Thief
by Aria6
Summary: Loosely based on the Thief games... Roxas is a thief who accidentally steals something far more important than he knows. Axel is a disgraced Windrider who is going to help him get away. What trouble can they get into? Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Roxas licked his lips, eyes narrowing as he carefully reached out and tapped the eye of the statue. It was a huge statue, the idol of some mythical deity. It had a vicious mouthful of teeth in the face of a gargoyle, but he found the appearance rather lackluster. And there was no hint of magic about it so he wasn't worried about it animating and tearing him limb from limb. That left mechanical traps.

Roxas paused in his tapping. The sound wasn't quite right. He carefully removed a tiny lockpick from his coat and tapped the gem again. Definitely not right. Swinging across the statue, he gripped its nose in a way that would have made any priest screaming about sacrilege. When he was on the other side he began his tapping on the second eye.

"Much better." He muttered, taking out a dagger and beginning the chore of prying free the stone. The black diamond finally came free with a pop and he watched it fall to the ground, unconcerned. The large gem would survive the fall easily. If it didn't, it wasn't a diamond and he didn't particularly care about its demise. Putting his dagger away, he slid down the statue and retrieved the stone.

Roxas was a thief. But he was not just any thief. He'd been trained from birth to be a shadow thief, one of the greatest thieves to ever live. The Guild had finally gotten a bit too arrogant and fallen foul of the Emperor, but plenty of the thieves and assassins had survived, scattered and working for themselves. Roxas was quite pleased with the outcome. He'd never liked his so-called superiors and the way he'd had to give them most of his earnings had been galling. Now he worked only for himself and although that carried some risks, it was far more satisfying. Right now he was raiding the Royal catacombs. There were rumours about this place but no solid information. To Roxas, that spelled big money. Also potentially a great deal of danger, but who cared about that?

He merged with the shadows, feeling the cool rush of darkness. The world became like a sepia painting, nothing but shades of grey. Yet his vision was vastly better than when he stood in the sunlight. He imagined this was how a cat felt, stalking its prey. Smiling to himself Roxas crept through the crypts. He was pausing to pry out a small emerald from a sarcophagus when he heard a sound. A muffled thumping? It was hard to be certain though. The catacombs were full of echoes. Slipping back into the shadows he began tracing the sound back to its source.

_Oh argh._ Roxas curled his lip in disgust at the sight of a rather chinless, scrawny nobleman humping away on a lush brunette. Either she was a champion actress or she was really enjoying it. He wasn't sure which prospect was more nauseating. Of course, Roxas knew he was a biased audience. He'd never had the least bit of interest in the games of man and maid. Briefly he considered poking the fellow in the buttocks with his dagger, but as he spotted the discarded clothes he had a much better idea.

The distracted couple didn't notice as things began quietly disappearing. Jeweled pins that had once held up glossy tresses were the first to go, followed by silver spurs set with flashing gems. Then a small money pouch, hidden cleverly in a belt. Roxas had to slit open the belt for that, but he was familiar with such things. Out of a sense of thoroughness he checked the maiden's clothing. He kneaded her fur hat and blinked in surprise as he found something crinkly in it. Slitting that open as well he extracted another leather pouch. It crinkled a bit under his fingers and he grimaced to himself, quickly hiding it away. Utterly satisfied, he slipped away from the rutting couple and began making his way out of the catacombs. They would probably be done soon, and they would notice the theft as soon as they tried to leave. Those jewelled pins would be particularly notable in their absence.

_I wonder if this has something to do with the catacombs reputation?_ Roxas mused to himself. It was very easy to spread stories and people were horribly superstitious. It didn't matter to him though. Deciding to indulge himself, he stopped at a chop house on the way home and treated himself to a thick, juicy steak covered in fried mushrooms and a half-bottle of wine. Roxas pulled out the package from the woman's hat and curiously unfolded the contents as he ate.

_What?_ Roxas blinked and just managed to catch a very large fire opal before it could hit the floor. _Huh. _A quick examination told him it was probably real and very good quality. Pocketing the gem, he looked through the papers as he ate a piece of meat. It was good and rare, just the way he liked it. _Ew, love letters. _Roxas grimaced to himself and considered burning them on the candle at his table. Then he shook his head and pocketed them. They were written on only one side and the paper was good. He could always use them for shopping lists. Finishing his meal he ordered a cup of fancy tea, sipping thoughtfully and listening to the minstrel in the corner as he tried to tally up his earnings of the day. His lips curved in a dreamy smile as he contemplated the totals.

He wouldn't know for certain until he got everything to a fence, but it had been a very good day.

* * *

><p>"What a swell little thing." Roxas' eyes narrowed as he watched Silly Billy fiddle with the fire opal. Billy was not his favourite person in the world. The fence looked a lot like a weasel… the kind of weasel other weasels distrusted. Roxas was always very careful to make sure he didn't get any chance to substitute the gems for fakes and try to claim Roxas had stolen something worthless or flawed. Billy flashed him a quick, nervous grin and Roxas longed to knock his crooked teeth down his throat. But he was a good fence in spite of it all, so he waited with an air of strained patience. "We'll have to cut her down of course. A bit too noticeable this size."<p>

"Of course." Roxas agreed, although he didn't believe any such thing. Fire opals weren't the most expensive gems out there and they could come in large sizes. This one was unusual, but not remarkably so. This was a ploy to pay him less. "How much?" He didn't really want to spend more time in Billy's presence than he had to. The man smelled like onions and old, rancid sausage. The fence named a figure that was unpleasantly low and Roxas gritted his teeth. "Not hardly!" He snarled back before naming a figure that was three times what Billy wanted. The fence yelped like a scalded cat and Roxas smiled to himself. His offer had clearly been just right.

It took a bit of wrangling and a few threats of bodily injury, but the price finally reached a decent compromise. Billy was grumbling as he counted out the coins and Roxas made sure to count them himself, then test them with a measure to make sure the fence wasn't shorting him. Billy watched him with a long-suffering look on his face.

"Have I ever given you short measure before?" He demanded and Roxas shook his head.

"No. Because I always check." He replied bluntly before scooping up the coins and the little metal bars. "Thanks Billy." He made it as insincere as possible, just to annoy the fence. But Silly Billy was already prying a stone out of a pin and didn't acknowledge the words at all. Roxas beat a hasty retreat and whistled to himself as he went to a bathhouse. It was time to give himself a little treat. As he swam in the warm, slightly soapy water Roxas considered his next target. He didn't believe in taking breaks. That was for lesser thieves, who stole just enough to get themselves wine and food. Roxas had much bigger plans for his life.

It would take a while, but someday his dream of opening a chocolate shop would be a reality.

* * *

><p>Roxas was skulking. Well, not really. In actual fact, he was loitering. It was a nice sunny day and he'd decided to take a day off from his endless search for coin. Dedication was one thing, but being too focused could lead you to missing danger signs. A quick jaunt around his neighbourhood showed him that everyone was still regarding him with fond tolerance.<p>

Roxas did not live in the slums. He could have and it would have saved him a lot of money, but then he would have to worry about guard roundups, arson and footpads. His skill with knives and shadows could have dealt with that, but the constables came down hard on fatalities and Roxas had never been very good at leaving people alive. Instead, he was using a false identity as the shiftless scion of a shipping magnet, exiled away on an allowance. It was a very good false identity. The shipping magnet in question actually existed, but very far away, and he had a son who wandered about on an allowance. They even looked alike and Roxas congratulated himself on managing to find the cover. It had taken some serious work with an excellent forger.

So instead of the slums, he lived in a modest lower-class neighbourhood. Full of working poor, it was a very respectable sort of place. Roxas paused to buy an apple from a cart and smiled at the seller, wondering how he would have reacted if he'd known his customer was a master thief.

After taking a measure of his home turf, Roxas slouched off in an aimless walk. It was really a fine day. He stopped to purchase a cup of flavoured ice, a true delicacy in the heat. Chewing on the ice, he gradually made his way into the bad part of town. It was safe enough during daylight and many people from the respectable parts visited the pawnshops and stores for all sorts of things. Roxas paused at a display of daggers, looking them over with a critical eye. Wretched pot metal, unbalanced and dull. He sniffed in professional derision before moving on.

A filthy street urchin dodged past him and Roxas cursed him as he was jostled. The curse was theatrical, but the jostle wasn't and no passerby would have been aware that Roxas was now holding a piece of paper, pressed into his palm. He didn't make the amateur mistake of reading it immediately. Instead he paused to buy a small skewer of mystery meat and held his palm so he could read the message as he chewed.

_Bad news. Meet me at the Jackal. - Billy_ Roxas swallowed his meat and pocketed the paper, wondering what the bad news could be. Was the gem an ingenious fake? If so Billy was going to have to prove it. He'd accepted it as good and Roxas wasn't giving his money back without one hell of a fight. Frowning to himself, he made his way to the Jackal.

The Jackal was a very private tavern, on the edge of the worst part of town. It was the kind of place where people conducted business in secluded booths, and Roxas wasn't surprised to find Billy in one of them. He was surprised to find Billy looking well roughed up.

"What happened to you? You look like you went a couple rounds with a bear." Roxas asked as he took a seat, pouring himself a glass of beer and taking a sniff then a careful sip. No drugs detected, he took a deep draught. Billy winced.

"Keep it down!" He hissed and Roxas cocked an eyebrow at him. "Why didn't you warn me that fire opal was hot? A noble bitch and her hired muscle beat me up!"

"Huh?" Roxas blinked, surprised. The fire opal was worth a bit but it wasn't a diamond. Most nobles would write off the loss with a sour expression. And how had anyone found Billy this quickly? Was she beating up every fence in town? "You didn't give her my name, did you?" Roxas' eyes narrowed dangerously as the seedy man fidgeted. "Billy!"

"Look, they were going to kill me! You can't blame me for this!" The fence pleaded and Roxas growled, his hand twitching towards the hilts of his daggers. "I had to warn you! You have to get out of town. There's something big going on."

"Gee, thanks Billy. You have any suggestions on how to do that?" Roxas asked sarcastically as he ran through his own mental options. The problem was, he didn't really know the countryside well. He might do better to go to ground in the city. But if they'd managed to find Billy the very next day after his theft, someone was determined. Billy leaned forward.

"Yeah, I do. Uh… look…" Billy fidgeted a bit more and Roxas gave him a hard stare. "You don't mind… fags, do you?"

"No, I put one in the fire every Christmas." Roxas said with a straight face and treasured Billy's complete incomprehension. "If you mean men who like men, no, I don't have a problem. Why?" It was an interesting question. Billy might have a good reason to ask… there were a lot of downsides to being an open fag. Roxas himself was plugged into the community, but kept it so far separate from his life as a thief that Billy had no idea. He kept it even more separate from his life as a respectable heir.

"There's this guy I know." Billy lowered his voice as Roxas lifted his eyebrows. "He's a fag. He was in training to be a Windrider, right? But he got caught when the constables busted a house. If he can't get you out of town no one can."

"Hmm." Roxas considered the idea for a moment. It was an excellent idea… provided Billy wasn't trying to double-cross him. "You telling me straight Billy? Not thinking about selling me to that noble bitch, are you?" The fence went pale at his quiet, dangerous tone. "Because if you are, you should know I'm hard to kill."

"I swear I'm not!" He was sweating now and Roxas thought the terror was genuine. "I know you're one of those freaky shadow assassins! I wouldn't dare! I just want to help you out for giving them your name man!" Roxas smiled to himself. He wasn't really trained as an assassin, but Billy didn't know that. Most of the fences thought he'd been an assassin and traded it for thievery after the organization was broken up. It was an impression he encouraged. Roxas regarded the fence for a moment and finally decided he was telling the truth.

"Okay, I believe you Billy. Now, this guy. What kind of a house was this? It wasn't kids, was it?" Roxas let an edge of hardness enter his tone. There were all kinds of whorehouses in the slums, including the flagrantly illegal ones that catered to pedophiles. But Billy shook his head.

"No, nuthin' like that. They'd have killed him if it had been that!" Roxas nodded to himself. While a powerful noble could escape with life if not reputation intact, a novice windrider probably wasn't a powerful noble. "It was just a house. Teenagers, young men, that sort of thing. This guy had a lover there. He tried to get him out and got caught instead. The windrider's kicked him out. I can send you to him if you're interested." Roxas considered it and made a quick decision.

"I'm interested. Where do I meet this guy?" Billy pulled out a grubby piece of paper and Roxas looked it over, grimacing at the complicated directions. "Alright Billy. If I live, I'll owe you one." It really had been good of Billy to give him warning, even if he'd done it to preserve his own hide from Roxas' vengeance. "Later." Roxas finished his beer and stood, smoothly sliding into the shadows on his way out of the bar.

The shadows were the safest place to be right now.

* * *

><p>Roxas consulted the paper one last time before glaring at the tenement in front of him. Was this really the right place?<p>

It seemed to be. Roxas sighed, putting the paper away before sneaking into the place. It was much harder than he would have thought, largely due to the cockroaches. They crunched nastily underfoot and his shadow walking didn't help him to avoid stepping on them. He kept a hand near his dagger, ignoring the stench of cabbage soup and burned bread that permeated the place. He'd never had to live in a place like this - his luck had never been this poor - but he'd travelled through many spots equally bad. Usually as quickly as possible with a backward shudder.

Reaching the correct room, Roxas rapped on the door with the handle of his dagger. There was a silence and he was about to rap again when the door opened.

"You would be Roxas?" The man in front of him asked, his voice soft and rusty with disuse. Roxas nodded, glancing him over. The failed windrider was a tall, lanky man with brilliant red hair. He wasn't particularly clean and smelled of old alcohol, but he seemed perfectly sober at the moment. His cheekbones were prominent and Roxas could see the telltale signs of someone who hadn't been eating much lately. It didn't particularly surprise him. A windrider's skills would be highly prized, but the underworld had plenty of prejudices against his kind. Roxas considered it pointlessly stupid since the same underworld ran the whorehouses that catered to it, but there it was. An open fag would have trouble finding work. "I'm Axel." He offered his hand and Roxas took it with an internal wince. But the palm was clean and warm, rough with sword calluses. "Welcome to my humble home." There was a hint of humor in bright green eyes and Roxas found himself smiling back. "I regret that I can't offer you much in the way of refreshment, but my circumstances have been rather sad of late."

"So I see." Roxas said dryly, glancing around the room. There wasn't much in it. Just a few old wine bottles, a nest of blankets and more roaches. There was also a very fine bow, arrows, and a plain but serviceable sword. Roxas glanced back at Axel and noted the quality of the leather armor he was wearing. It was as dirty as the rest of him, but beneath the grime he could see it was really quite fine, etched with runes of hardening. "Well, Axel, have you heard about my problem?" Roxas was sure Billy would have sent word and the redhead nodded.

"Billy said you could get us out of town. After that, I can get you as far as we need to go." Axel smiled briefly. "I'm an expert when it comes to living off the land. If you want, we can get started immediately." Roxas considered it a moment then nodded.

"Very well. Let's go." Taking Axel through the city would be annoying but Roxas was sure his aid would be priceless in the wilderness. Everything Roxas knew about trees and edible berries could be scrawled on one side of a plate, in big letters. Axel picked up his bow and quickly donned his sword. The quiver of arrows was slung over his back and they picked their way out of the flophouse. "I hope you don't mind sewers." Axel laughed and Roxas glanced at him, surprised by the harsh, grating edge to the sound.

"If you had asked that a few weeks ago, I'd have thought you were mad. But now… I can handle a sewer." Axel's smile had a bittersweet edge. "How the mighty have fallen." He said softly and Roxas pretended to ignore the comment. It clearly wasn't intended for him and it needed no explanation.

A roach hotel was a long way to fall from being one of the King's most elite guard.


	2. Wilderness Travel

"You might want to finish that." Roxas said in a low tone. Axel was chewing on a piece of terrible sausage, hard cheese and oat bread. Axel nodded and tried to gulp it down, but was foiled by the heavy grain of the bread and had to take a drink of water from his canteen. Roxas waited patiently for the food to vanish. On Axel's suggestion, Roxas had paused to steal some trail provisions. They had been careful to be unseen, although if the theft got back to the noble woman she would know they were heading into the countryside. But how would she hear of such a thing? Roxas put it out of mind. They would need the provisions, especially since they included things like twine for snares and fishhooks. "Or you won't want to." Roxas added just before wrenching open the cover. It released with reluctance, but there was no groan from the hinges. They were kept well oiled by thieves like himself, and the poor bastards who had to clean the tunnels hardly cared.

"Hrk!" Roxas smiled grimly as Axel recoiled a little from the smell. The redhead swallowed hard, sans bread, but nodded and knelt, gripping the rungs of the ladder and swinging himself down. Roxas followed and expertly closed the hatch behind them. There was a quiet swear from Axel as he landed on an almost dry, but mossy catwalk. The tunnels were bridged by them, put in place for the cleaners. They were still slick and Axel's heavy boots were not ideal for this.

_Although the boot will be on the other foot soon enough._ Roxas' softer boots were good for this sort of thing, but would not be ideal for the wilderness. But he would cross that bridge when he came to it. If necessary, he could steal some boots at a village. Roxas slid a hand into his cloak and pulled out a small, crystal tipped wand. A flick at the base and it cast a cool, dim blue light.

"Clever. I was wondering how we would see down here. I assume a flame would be bad?" Axel's face looked pale and strange in the light and Roxas shook away the unsettling thought that he was speaking to a corpse.

"Very bad. The gasses can catch fire. And a torch would be a sign we don't belong here, if anyone happens to be working this stretch. This wand is the same kind the tunnelers use." Roxas thought the men who worked in these tunnels were crazy, but he appreciated their efforts. They were the ones who handled blockages, and it was a disgusting, horrible job. All the effluvia of the city came through these tunnels along with a good bit of its trash. "This way." The tunnels led out of town. They had to. They dumped into huge septic ponds. Roxas was fuzzy on what happened to the shit after that, but he was sure they could slip away there. Other thieves had escaped that way, when things in the city got a bit too hot to handle.

They weren't going to take the direct way though. Generations of thieves and malcontents had created a warren of back ways and Roxas knew them all. He placed a hand firmly on Axel's chest as they made a turn into a very disused little tunnel. It was filled with brackish, still water.

"Stay here." He told the redhead quietly as Axel cocked an eyebrow at him. The man frowned but stayed put as Roxas searched for the hidden wheel. "Ah yes." He mumbled to himself as he found it. It wasn't too well hidden, but the trick was knowing it was there at all. Roxas slowly turned it and Axel made a startled sound as a net lifted out of the water in front of them. "We have a few minutes before it goes back down. Come on." Roxas led him through, although Axel paused a moment to look at the net.

"Caltrops. Rusty caltrops. Nasty." Axel murmured as he followed Roxas. "Did you set that up?" Roxas shook his head.

"No, it's been here for years. It's not the only trap so stay behind me." Axel nodded without comment. He knew his limitations and Windriders weren't trained for this sort of thing. They were cavalry and wilderness scouts, neither of which included disarming traps in dark corners.

The trip through the sewers was long and a little grim. At one point they were set on by hungry rats, but Roxas used a stink bomb to drive them off. That made Axel gasp and sputter but the redhead didn't complain, to Roxas' surprise. He was developing a grudging approval for the redhead. From his faint accent and mannerisms, he thought Axel was from the minor nobility. From his few interactions with them, he'd formed the impression that most nobles were over-fussy whiners. He'd known the redhead wouldn't be as bad as most, but he still hadn't thought the ex-Windrider would suffer adversity so well. Plenty of thieves hated the sewers.

It took hours of walking before they finally reached their goal. Roxas stared at the deep pool of water in front of them with misgiving. He'd never needed to do this before and was highly dubious. It seemed like a great way to catch typhoid or cholera, although thankfully this water was separate from the main sewer. It was mostly rain runoff so it might even be clean… ish. Roxas was well aware of the fact that all the horse manure of the city went into runoff.

"Roxas?" The blonde tore his thoughts away from the task awaiting them and turned to the redhead. Axel was looking at him expectantly. "What now?" He asked and Roxas frowned.

"Do you know how to swim?" He asked. Axel blinked then eyed the water with alarm. "The way out is through there." Roxas pointed into the pool and Axel sucked in a breath.

"That sounds dangerous." He said. Roxas admired the understatement. "I mean, I've no qualms about danger but I really don't want to drown in shit. That's high on the list of my worst ways to die."

"Whatever could be above it?" Roxas asked then sighed. "Unfortunately, there's no choice. You can't see anything down there so it has to be done by feel. If you follow the third bar on the left you'll find a break in the grate large enough for even a fat thief to fit through. Then we can get through to the other side." The bars went across the pool of water, forming an effective barrier. Even if a constable figured it out he would probably decide he wasn't getting paid enough to swim through shit filled water.

"How much are you paying me again?" Axel asked and Roxas chuckled at the odd echo of his thoughts. "Well, might as well get this over with. My poor sword." Axel shook his head and Roxas wondered why he wasn't concerned about his bow. Was the case he kept it in waterproof? Actually, it probably was. Nothing could ruin a good bow like wet. It would certainly destroy bowstrings. The redhead waded into the water and grunted as he encountered the sudden dropoff, going under for a moment before he surfaced. He reached the bars quickly and clung to them a moment, hitching his pack up his shoulders a bit before he found the right one and dove. Roxas realized he was holding his breath only when he released it, as the redhead surfaced on the other side and quickly swam out of the pool.

"Now my turn." Roxas muttered as he checked his gear. His lockpicks and tools were in oiled sealskin cases. The trail bread and cheese was waxed. It should survive mostly intact, although Roxas anticipated throwing out at least a few pieces. "Okay." He was stalling and he knew it. Grimacing to himself, the blonde stepped into the water. It felt warm, which was slightly alarming.

The filthy water provided all the impetus he needed to get through quickly. Roxas kept his eyes tightly closed as he navigated down the bars by feel, anxious about his air. The bars were rough cut and for one horrible moment his pack snagged on one. But a quick wiggle freed it and the blonde came to the surface, taking a deep breath and immediately spitting as a bit of the tainted water tried to make it into his mouth.

"Vile vile vile." Grumbling to himself, Roxas waded out of the water. To his annoyance, Axel was looking oddly dry although not at all clean. "I hope you know where to find a river when we get out of town." Roxas was relatively sure he would. The countryside was lousy with streams and rivers. Axel nodded.

"Of course. I desperately want one myself. Are we almost there?" Axel sounded a little plaintive and Roxas managed a smile. A bit of whining was understandable at this stage.

"Almost. We need to be careful leaving the pipes." Roxas wasn't sure if it was daylight outside. If so, there might be some workers who would spot them. Or possibly not. The smell got progressively worse as they neared the end of the sewage tunnels. The thieves trail they were following paralleled them closely. They finally reached the metal cover that led to the outside. Roxas struggled with it as Axel uncovered and strung his bow. "Hng!" Roxas grunted as he tried to heave open the final hatch. Then he blinked as strong hands joined his on the cold metal.

"Let me." Axel muttered and Roxas moved away. The redhead's height and strength worked in his favor and the cover opened with a squealing of hinges that made the blonde wince. But no one maintained this hatch. It just wasn't used enough for that. "Fuck!" The redhead's curse was quiet but audible and he reached for his bow, pulling himself out one-handed and scanning the area for enemies. "No one here. It's just barely dawn." Roxas was relieved at that and followed the other man out of the tunnels. Axel stood still for a moment, clearly orienting himself. Then he gestured towards the woods. They were a fair ways off and the land was carefully cleared around the city, so they would be painfully obvious if anyone was watching from the walls. But it was unlikely there would be anyone on the walls at all. That was for times of war. "This way. Follow me." Roxas was glad to do so but felt a prickle of uneasiness as he watched Axel's back. The redhead seemed competent but he didn't really know for certain. And from now on, he would have to trust in the other man's skills.

It was an unnerving thought.

* * *

><p>"At last." Roxas nodded in heartfelt agreement to Axel's sighed words.<p>

They had been in the wilderness for two days and Roxas had become intimately acquainted with his own stink. If anything Axel had been even worse, but the redhead hadn't breathed a word of complaint. He'd been more concerned about his armor and boots, and had managed to scour away most of the muck from them. It hadn't been easy using nothing but the brackish water Axel found by digging in wet spots on the ground. Roxas would never have guessed you could find water that way, but Axel seemed to have a genius for knowing where it was hiding.

But it hadn't been much to wash with. Now they were on the banks of a river and Axel was checking for enemies and wildlife. Roxas waited impatiently for him to give the all clear, then began stripping off his clothes without shame. He was amused to see Axel swallow hard and look away. Roxas watched him from the corner of his eye as the redhead began to disrobe. The body revealed was still hard and toned, although a little wasted from his time in the tenement. Axel didn't notice Roxas watching him at all, which wasn't surprising to the blonde. He was very good at hiding how he was and Axel wasn't very good at picking up the subtle cues. Roxas suspected that had a lot to do with why he'd found affection at a whorehouse. Then he saw something that made him forget any such musings.

"You have soap?" He said, startled, as he watched Axel begin to lather up. Roxas had just been using handfuls of water to scrub himself. The redhead flashed him a quick grin.

"Oh yes. Not enough food, but I managed to buy some cheap soap." The redhead worked on his hair as Roxas watched him enviously. "But then, I'd rather die than never be clean. This feels so good."

"When you're done I want it." Roxas said firmly. "And we should use that to clean our clothes." They were incredibly mangy from the stint in the sewer. Axel nodded again.

"A Windrider wouldn't need to follow our tracks right now. He could just smell us." He said. Roxas thought that was a gross exaggeration but he wasn't entirely sure. "Although a Windrider could probably get through all the muddying I've been doing, if he worked at it hard enough."

"Hm." Was Roxas' only comment. He knew nothing about it, but he thought Axel had been doing a good job of hiding their trail. And what were the odds some random noblewoman would have access to the King's Windriders? Not very likely. Roxas put it out of mind as Axel handed him the soap. He luxuriated in it, ignoring the redhead's glances. He wasn't very good at hiding his interest. For a brief moment Roxas considered seducing him, then discarded the idea. It was never wise to mix business and pleasure.

_Ice Prince._ Roxas ruefully remembered what his first lover had called him. There was a great deal of truth to it. He valued logic highly and disliked arguments and drama strongly. He wasn't a hermit, though, and liked to go out and have fun on occasion. He'd never fallen in love though. Roxas sometimes wondered if he was even capable of it.

"You done with that? I want to get started on our clothes." Roxas came out of his reverie and handed over the soap with a nod. Axel immediately began scrubbing his shirt hard. It wouldn't be as effective as it could be without a washboard, but soon they might aspire to something beyond dirty beggar status. "Too bad we didn't bring any changes." Axel muttered and Roxas felt a small pang as he remembered his wardrobe back in the city. Clothing was not cheap to replace. He'd been more worried about carrying other things though, and had only brought some changed of underwear. "Too bad the fuckers at the academy didn't let me take anything but what I was carrying when they threw me out." Roxas nodded sympathetically. That was probably technically illegal but who would help a disgraced Windrider cadet? "Oh well. I'd have needed a horse to carry it all, and they certainly weren't going to let me keep my horse."

"You couldn't have fed it anyway." Roxas commented absently as he scratched his leg, frowning at the large red spot. Was that a mosquito bite? Hopefully it wasn't fleas or a tick bite.

"Well, if I'd still had my horse I'd have left the city and tried to go home." Axel said with a sigh, wringing out the shirt and putting it on a branch. Roxas waded out of the water and sat down on the grass, letting the sun dry him. Axel's quick glance was almost unnoticeable. "My parents come from the upper Bribane river. Speaking of which, where are we going?"

"Huh?" Roxas blinked at the question and realized he hadn't much thought about it. Away was sufficient at first, but it wasn't now. "I'm not sure. Where have you been taking us?" Axel had picked out a trail confidently enough. The redhead paused then shrugged.

"Towards my home. It's a two week trip and I'm not eager to hear what my father has to say, but I'm obligated to go home sooner or later. Preferably sooner. The academy will have sent them a message about my disgrace and my mother will be convinced I'm dead in a ditch or starving on the streets." Axel said with a sigh. Roxas decided not to point out that she would have been close to correct. "They'll help me out, give me some money to get on my feet. Maybe I can find a place as a caravan guard or a mercenary."

"Quite possible." Roxas agreed as he tried to remember what was in the upper Brisbane area. "Is there a city close to where your parents live?" The rural life was not for him. Axel nodded.

"It's only about a days' ride from Tatawongo." Roxas filed that in his mind as one of the more ridiculous city names he'd heard. "It's not that big and most of the money comes in from the sawmills and lumber industry."

"That's fine." Normally it wouldn't be but right now Roxas wasn't going to be picky. "We should probably try to get a map." Roxas loved maps. Thanks to the King's surveyors, even the cheapest maps were to scale and accurate. The only difference between a cheap and expensive map was how long it would last. Axel laughed and Roxas cocked an eyebrow at him, blinking as he suddenly noticed how the water was beading on tanned skin. That was nice.

"I have one." Roxas was genuinely surprised at that and stared as Axel smiled at him. "It's probably a bit grubby, but I can wash it a bit if I'm gentle."

"Wash a _map_?" Roxas repeated dubiously and Axel laughed again before rummaging through his pack. A quick search brought out a folded square of cloth. The redhead carefully unfolded it and Roxas sat up as he recognized what it was. "Where did you get that?" It was the finest type of map on the market, embroidered by hand on a piece of silk. Not really subject to water damage, it was ridiculously expensive. The Axel smiled briefly and with a pained edge.

"They're general issue for a Windrider. I was on my final form when I was disgraced, so they had already issued me one and forgot to ask for it back." Axel smoothed the fabric and shook his head at the stains. "This really needs a more delicate soap than what we have. I think I'll just leave it for now." Roxas nodded, but a new question was running through his mind. That map was worth at least a golden penny, possibly more.

"Why didn't you sell that, before we met?" He asked. The redhead wouldn't have been able to get full price but he'd still have made enough to eat and move out of that flophouse. Axel sighed, looking at the map for a moment before he spoke.

"Because it's one of the tools of my trade. With this and my loadstone, my bow and my sword, I'm a Windrider. Without them I'm nothing." Axel smoothed the fabric again then looked up, meeting Roxas' eyes. "And I wasn't desperate enough yet. In a week I probably would have."

"Ah." Roxas nodded his understanding and felt a surge of warmth towards the other man. He'd sold his lockpicks once, a long time ago, and it had felt like he'd been selling part of his identity. He'd gotten new ones later but he could still remember the wrenching dislocation. "I see. Well, where do you think we are?" Roxas peered at the map as Axel examined it. It was highly detailed and fairly large. The redhead's finger touched a small blue line.

"Somewhere on this river. If we follow it, it'll meet the low road that heads toward the King's highway." Roxas looked at the roads and nodded. The low road would be nothing but dirt, but the King's highway would be graded and gravelled. There were very few such roads in the Kingdom but they were much faster than the dirt ones, even on foot. "The question is, is it safe to use it?" Axel chewed on a bit of hair as Roxas blinked.

"Surely she wouldn't be looking for us outside the city! It was just an opal." He objected and Axel shrugged.

"I agree, but she shouldn't have found your fence that quickly either." Roxas nodded in rueful agreement. He'd thought that many times already and still hadn't found any kind of reason for it. "So better safe than sorry. We can shadow the road for a while, make sure we're safe before we take to it." Axel glanced up at the sky. "Do you mind if we stay here the rest of the day? You could wash our packs and other things while I try to catch some fish."

"Uh…" Roxas glanced up at the sky as well. It was past noon. "Yes, let's do that." He quickly decided. A fresh meal would do them a world of good, and so would completely eliminating the smell and making sure everything was dried thoroughly. He was confident that Axel had confused their trail more than enough to give them a good lead, even if someone had figured they'd gone out through the sewers. Roxas thought that was unlikely. Only thieves knew of it and it was a jealously guarded secret. Axel nodded and pulled out the fishing supplies he'd stolen from the travel store. Roxas carefully emptied the packs and began washing them in the stream as well, grimacing at the strange growth he found at the bottom of his own pack. Disgusting. Axel's wasn't quite as bad, since it wasn't from the shop. It was a Windrider issued thing and meant to survive all kinds of conditions. He was sad to see that Axel had put back on his clothes before going fishing, but then he considered the effect of a fishing hook getting caught in delicate areas. Ouch. Although that was unlikely to happen to an experienced fish-

"Ow!" Roxas blinked as the hook tangled in Axel's hair. "Damn. I never was any good at this." He snorted to himself as Axel began carefully removing the barbed piece of metal from his hair. The redhead seemed very cheerful about it. "Don't worry, I have this!"

"Oh good. Just don't let the fish drown you." Roxas advised and Axel shot him a mock hurt look. Then he laughed and cast his line again.

The rest of the day passed in peaceful domestic chores. Roxas managed to wash everything and put it on branches to dry while Axel actually caught several fish, including a monstrous carp that threatened to really drown the redhead for a moment or two. That one he heaved onto shore so Roxas could cut off its head with Axel's sword. That was a hectic few minutes and they called an end to the fishing at that point.

"No need to catch more." Axel said as he admired the catch of the day. "I never thought I'd be able to get one of those with just a line! Usually you need a pole." Roxas shrugged. Except for the fancy poles nobles used, which had reels, there wasn't much difference. "Fortunately I know how to cook these. Can you look for some clay?" Axel asked as he pulled out his boot knife and began cleaning the fish. Roxas looked at the bank helplessly, wondering what clay looked like. "Nevermind. Here, why don't you get the scales off the fish? You do it like this." Roxas watched intently and began trying to scale the fish as Axel searched for some clay. He wasn't very good at it but it probably wouldn't matter too much. They could always spit the scales out if necessary. "Here we are. One of the best ways to cook fish is to bake it in clay. We can just break open the clay and the skin will come off, and we can pick the flesh off the bones." Axel sounded proud but Roxas saw the flaw in his logic immediately.

"Then why am I scaling this fish?" He asked and Axel looked flummoxed for a moment. "Nevermind. Let's get it started." Roxas was getting quite hungry but didn't want to eat anymore trail bread. The fish was looking highly edible although he wished they had some lime. "Are there any herbs for it?" He asked and Axel took a quick trip into the woods, coming back a short time later with some wild onions. Stuffed into the fish they would add just a bit of flavor. "I'm really glad I hired you." Roxas said with a small laugh. He'd never have known the difference between wild onions and something poisonous. Axel grinned.

"Let me go see if I can find anything else edible while that cooks." He said and Roxas nodded, stirring the coals around the clay caked fish. Axel was gone for much longer this time and the sky was beginning to darken as the redhead came back. "Not much luck but I found some greens. They're not very tasty but they're edible." Roxas looked at the handfuls of leaves dubiously. "Dandelions, mostly."

"Dandelions?" Roxas peered at him, trying to see if the redhead was joking, then decided he was serious. "Well, I'll try them." They really didn't taste wonderful but they were fairly tender. Axel had picked them mostly from younger plants. Eaten with the carp meat they were almost good. "Not bad." He allowed and Axel grinned.

"They're a bit better cooked, but we don't have a pot to boil them." Axel sighed in repletion, laying down on the soft grass. "This was a good day. Hopefully the weather will stay fine until we get home." Roxas lifted an eyebrow at that but said nothing. He doubted Axel's family would welcome a thief. On the other hand, they didn't have to tell them his profession. They might welcome their son's employer.

"Now that you've said that it's going to rain." Roxas commented before he lay down on the grass himself, watching as the fire dimmed to smoldering coals. The air was sweet here, so much sweeter than the city and the sound of crickets chirping was soothing. Soon he drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	3. Paranoia? Not if They're Out To Get You

It was a hot, muggy summer day. Roxas sneezed and wished they were a bit further from the river that was adding humidity to the air. Even more, he wished he could stand in the sunshine and let it dry him completely. But they were still standing in the shadows of the thick trees, far back from the high road.

"Perhaps we should take the road." Roxas looked at it longingly. His feet were hurting quite badly now, although he wasn't going to complain to Axel about it. The excellent gravel surface would be a pure relief, much easier on his boots than the sticks and stones of the brush.

"Hm. Let me take a look." Roxas was going to ask what for when Axel stepped out onto the road and began examining it. There was quite a bit of mud scattered on the road, flotsam from a short rainstorm the day before. Roxas sighed and leaned against a tree, letting the redhead do his work.

Roxas didn't know exactly what a Windrider did, but he was beginning to think it was more than he'd assumed. Windriders were the King's elite guards, the men who watched over the Royal family at all times. But Axel also knew a bit of magic. After the storm he'dhad a hard time lighting the fire even with a dry starter, and Axel had finally resorted to a small cantrip. Was that something all Windriders could do? And what else could they do? That might explain their elite status. A warrior who could work magic was quite unusual.

"I think we should stay in the brush." Axel said from beside him and Roxas started, surprised. It never failed to shock him how quietly the redhead could move through the brush. Roxas could move that quietly as well, of course, but he was a thief. "A large group of horses came through here recently and they were wearing war shoes." Roxas shot him a sharp glance to see if he was joking. But the redhead seemed completely serious.

"What can that have to do with us?" Roxas asked skeptically. Axel scratched his hair, tugging on one of the red spikes.

"Honestly? Probably nothing." He admitted. "But if they've set up a roadblock and we walk right into it, we'd be in a world of trouble. I counted at least six separate tracks." Roxas looked at the muddy mess on the ground and wondered how anyone could tell. But then, everything Axel did was a mystery to him. "There may be more. And while I could probably kill that many common mercenaries, that would leave plenty of traces."

"What?" Roxas blinked at that and gave Axel a sharp look. "Kill that many? Are you serious?" Was this idle boasting or did the redhead think he could really do such a thing? Axel shrugged, meeting his gaze with a calm certainty that Roxas found a touch unnerving.

"Certainly. That's what I was trained for, you know. If I had a horse it would be better, of course, but my archery is deadly." Axel smiled and pulled out an arrow, fingering the finely made weapon. Roxas noticed the head of it was cruelly barbed and bit his lip. A head like that was meant for killing humans, not animals. "Even if we walked right into it I could probably get three before they could close with me."

"And if they have their own bows?" Roxas asked and Axel laughed.

"There's a small cantrip Windrider's know that causes bowstrings to break." He explained and Roxas pictured it. That would come as a shock to the enemy. "Only one at a time and we have to see them, though, so it's not always useful. On a roadblock it would be excellent." Roxas nodded. Someone at a barricade would be holding their bow or crossbow in hopes that anyone foolish enough to approach would surrender. "But none of that is any help," Axel said, his voice turning a bit grim. "if one of us gets hurt. Corpses lying around catch attention, and newly dug graves aren't much better. This isn't the hinterlands. We need to be cleverer than that."

"Oh, alright." Roxas groaned and Axel arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. "My feet are just killing me." He was sure he was going to have blisters tonight. The redhead laughed.

"Poor baby! If you don't mind me touching you, I can give you a massage. And I think I still have some blister salve. I carried it with me everywhere." Axel checked his bag and pulled out a small green jar. "Almost empty but it might help." Roxas stared at it and suddenly wished he'd brought up his problems days ago. Could that have prevented this much pain?

"I'll definitely try it, thank you." He said sincerely. "And I don't mind you touching me." He put a bit of warmth into that and smiled as Axel looked confused. The poor dear really didn't have a clue, did he? "But later. The sun is wasting." They started moving again and Roxas devoted his concentration to the ground, trying to avoid the worst of the stones.

It was hours before they found the roadblock but when they did, Roxas was glad of Axel's caution. It was around a bend in the road and if they'd been on the road, it would have been screened until the last minute. And Axel had been wrong about the numbers. Roxas counted nine men at the roadblock and while they wore no livery, they were better equipped than common hireswords. Three of them had crossbows.

"That could have gotten sticky." Axel muttered as he surveyed the group. "We can detour them easily but perhaps we should find out if they're really looking for you?" Roxas just looked at him and Axel elaborated. "I could go back to before the bend in the road and walk down it like an innocent lamb. I could leave my gear here and pretend to be a… journeyman carpenter." Axel's eyes narrowed in thought and Roxas considered the idea. "I helped out at the sawmill when I was just a sprout, so I know enough to pass if they question me. The only question is, would Billy have gotten caught again?"

"No." Roxas said immediately. "Billy is too smart for that. He'd have gone to ground right after we left." He was sure of that. Silly Billy was a smart man and had plenty of cash hidden away for occasions just like this. "He's not the most likeable man in the city, but there are plenty of thieves who would put him up for a payment or even a consideration later." Roxas probably would have done it himself, if Billy had approached him. He knew how he would have done it, too… not snuck Billy in but got him some good clothing and taken him home openly as his 'uncle.' "So no one knows you're involved." Roxas was following Axel's logic easily. The redhead nodded and started stripping off his armor.

"Watch my things for me. This might take a while." Roxas nodded as Axel got rid of all his gear. What was left was simple homespun trousers and a serviceable but not at all fancy shirt. The sweat stains would only add credence to his claims and so would his muscles and calluses. Roxas didn't think any hire sword would be able to tell the difference between carpentry calluses and sword calluses, if there even was a difference.

"Good luck." Roxas wished him quietly. While the redhead was gone, he took a seat and got out the little bottle of blister cream. At first it stung, a cold and prickling sensation that made him gasp. But as he worked it further into his feet that feeling went away and was replaced with a pleasant numbness. "Nice." Roxas murmured, keeping his boots off as he sat back against the tree. He stayed there until he heard faint voices. "Ah." Grimacing to himself he levered himself to his feet and peered out at the roadblock. Axel was talking to the men in a friendly manner and one of them was laughing and handing him something. What was it? Roxas shook his head. He just couldn't make it out. "Oh hells." He muttered to himself as he suddenly spotted a flaw in Axel's plan. The road after the roadblock was very straight. The men at the roadblock would be able to see him for quite a distance and the redhead couldn't just go into the woods without raising some very nasty questions. If they even glanced down the road and noticed he wasn't there…

But Axel seemed to realize that, as he kept walking down the road at a brisk trot. Roxas sat back down, deciding to just enjoy the salve. If he moved, Axel wouldn't know where to find him and they certainly couldn't call out to each other.

It took even longer than he'd feared for Axel to get back and the sun was beginning to set when a warm hand touched him on the shoulder. Roxas started awake, realizing he'd been dozing off. How odd. He was in the woods not far from a roadblock of possible enemies, but he hadn't been alarmed at all. Something about being with Axel made him feel oddly secure.

"Hey there." Roxas shivered slightly as he felt Axel's breath against his ear. "We should get going. I scouted out a nice little campsite deeper in the woods. We won't be able to light a fire though." Roxas groaned and pulled back on his socks and boots.

"What was that they gave you?" Roxas kept his voice as quiet as Axel's. There was little chance the men could hear them, but there was also no reason to take risks. Axel frowned and shook his head.

"It's too dark. I'll show you in the morning." Roxas gave him an irritated look and Axel shrugged. "We shouldn't discuss it here anyway."

"Hm, alright." Roxas followed Axel into the woods. The campsite this time was a hollow in the roots of an ancient tree. And not far away was a small creek that fed into the river. "Very nice." They would be able to bathe again. There was no point in catching fish without a fire though. Axel nodded but there was worry in his eyes. "Now show me what you got." Even if he couldn't see it fully, he wasn't going to wait until morning. Axel pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt and handed it to him. "…" It took Roxas a moment to understand what he was looking at. The lighting really was bad, but not bad enough.

"Are you joking?" Roxas stared at the paper and a rather good sketch of his face stared back. "This is ridiculous!" Even with graphic proof in front of him he could hardly believe those men were after him. "It was just a fire opal, a bunch of pins and a belt pouch! No one should care about it!" Axel shook his head and opened his mouth before pausing uncertainly.

"I was going to say that nobles can be very vengeful," He started slowly. "And about silly things. But you know, you're right. They found Billy… if it had been me, I'd have gotten my property or the value back from him then left him to put the screws on you." Roxas snorted at the thought. He would have made Billy's life hell if he'd tried. "So it follows that they're not interested in any of the things you pawned off on him. They want something else. Was there anything else you took? Like, oh, a seal or a ring or papers?"

_Papers._ Roxas' hand dropped to his belt pouch as he remembered. The papers were still there. He'd put them in with the trail bread during the sewer trip and they'd survived intact, awaiting their future as shopping lists.

"There were some papers." He said, troubled. "Do you want to see them?" He didn't see what love letters could have to do about this, but perhaps they were proof of an affair? But why would a thief care about that? The noble woman would have been smarter to let it go and assume he'd eventually throw them away. Axel shook his head.

"It's too dark and we can't use that light of yours. That light will carry forever out here." Roxas sighed, his suggestion cut off before he could voice it. "Show me in the morning. For now…" Roxas blinked as Axel suddenly gripped his feet, pulling off his boots. "Pass me the cream. I owe you a massage." The redhead frowned as he saw the state of Roxas' feet. "A very light massage. Why didn't you say something?" He murmured as he began working a second application of salve over the blisters. Roxas shrugged, curling up against a tree root.

"I didn't know you had that, and I'm not one to whine about things that can't be changed." He said, a touch drowsily. Axel chuckled softly and Roxas lifted his head, meeting warm green eyes.

"Not only are you not a whiner, you hide pain better than anyone I've ever seen. In the future, though, let me know when you're in trouble. It won't do either of us any good if you cripple yourself." He advised and Roxas nodded ruefully. "I would have had us stop a day to let you heal, although perhaps that wouldn't have been wise." The redhead murmured and Roxas sighed as warm, strong fingers started to work on him. That was nice if a bit ouchy in places.

"I've had a lot of practice hiding pain." He murmured and Axel paused a moment before resuming. "Axel? What exactly do Windrider's do?"

"That's a simple question with a complicated answer." Axel said and Roxas glanced up, seeing a thoughtful expression on his face. Although it was hard to make out much… the sun was really falling now. Roxas could have seen clearly if he'd dropped into the shadows but that would have bothered Axel. It would bother anyone but another shadow thief. "We act as bodyguards for the King and his family, but everyone knows about that. We also act as couriers, heralds, even diplomats and justicars." Roxas blinked at that. Justicars? "The last is for the small towns. We ride circuits, hunt down bandits and dispense justice. Often we go in pairs for that. I mean, they go in pairs." Axel shook his head at his own lapse. Roxas frowned as he thought about that. It suggested a wide variety of skills.

"Interesting. How good are you at figuring?" He asked and Axel tilted his head to one side, a touch confused at the question.

"I'm very good at it. We all have to be good… we sometimes have to reset land markers and do emergency surveys of property, so math is a required subject. Why?" He asked. Roxas shrugged, feeling almost embarrassed.

"No reason." He wasn't going to confess that the most he could do was simple addition and subtraction. Mathematics were his greatest weakness and that would be a serious problem when he finally got enough cash to open his own chocolate shop. If he could find someone to teach him… but not right now. He didn't trust Axel enough to reveal a weakness. Yet he trusted the redhead with his life. Sometimes, Roxas thought he was a bit of an odd person. Axel made a soft, noncommittal sound and released his feet.

"Well, we should get some sleep. There'll be a long day ahead of us tomorrow." The redhead said and Roxas nodded, yawning. They each curled up in the roots of the tree, quite separate yet conscious of each other. Roxas smiled to himself as he felt the other man watching him a bit before he fell asleep.

Axel really was terribly transparent.

* * *

><p>The next day dawned far too soon and Roxas groaned as Axel's hand gripped his shoulder, shaking him awake. As a thief in the city his schedule had been utterly unlike this. He rose at midday or later, and worked from evening until late in the night. But in the wilderness, with only the sun and moon to see, it made sense to wake up at first light.<p>

"Wake up sleepy head." Axel was disgustingly cheerful. Roxas wanted to hit him. "Show me those letters!" Roxas blinked as he remembered their talk the night before. He was never at his best this early in the morning.

"Oh, right." Roxas yawned as he sifted through his belt pouch and found the letters, passing them over. "I was going to throw the outer one away. It's a little smeared." It also stank a bit, although that wasn't a huge impediment. But Roxas doubted it would take ink well now. Axel nodded and began perusing the letters.

"Steamy!" He chuckled softly as he reached one particular passage and Roxas shrugged as he dug out some trail bread. The supplies were getting a little low and he ate sparingly. "Hm." Roxas glanced up to see the good cheer leaving Axel's face like water out of a broken jar. "Interesting." His voice was soft now and Roxas stopped chewing as he turned the next page.

"Have you found something?" He said tautly and Axel shook his head, dissatisfied.

"I'm not sure. Let me see." Axel kept reading and Roxas forced himself to eat. "Roxas, you said these people were having sex, right?" Roxas nodded. "What did the woman look like? Was she a brunette, bit of a rabbit face, crooked teeth?"

"Huh?" Roxas blinked. Courtesans were usually very beautiful and he'd assumed the woman was a courtesan. "I don't know. I couldn't see her face. Her figure was very lush." A bit overly so, perhaps, but plenty of men seemed to like that. "She was a brunette, with very glossy hair. The man was your usual inbred nobleman." Axel barked a surprised laugh at that.

"Well, I'm noble but I'm hopefully not inbred!" The redhead looked at one of the letters very closely. "The pet names in here, some of the references… and this watermark. I think I know why you're being pursued."

"You do?" Roxas wanted to jump up and shake the information out of him, but suppressed the urge. Instead he calmly set down his piece of bread and leaned forward, fixing Axel with an intent stare. "Why?" Axel gave him a smile but it was half-hearted at best and he tapped the sheets again.

"I believe these love letters were written by the Duke of Wittingdon, Duke Berganham. His titles include Marquis of Fenmoss and Landgrave of Low Gravalt. He's one of the ten richest nobles in the country." Roxas goggled a bit. A man that powerful and rich humping in the royal catacombs? What could require such secrecy? "Written to the Duchess of Roysham. Who is married to the King's brother, just as the Duke is married to the King's half-sister." Axel was clearly taking a grim sort of pleasure at bringing out the bad news.

"That's bad." Roxas just absorbed the news for a moment. How would the royal spouses react to this infidelity? Not good. Axel's laugh was weirdly happy.

"Oh, you have no idea! You see, Roxas, the Duke and the Duchess also happen to be brother and sister." Roxas goggled again and Axel grinned savagely. "If these letters came to light, even without testimony, it would be enough to utterly ruin their reputations. It might even be enough to put the Duke on the gallows, if he's out of the King's favor. I'm not sure if he is or not though. That's a bit high for me." Axel carefully refolded the letters and Roxas felt a sudden doubt.

"How do you know who the letters are referring to? They don't use names." He asked. There were a lot of pet names, of course, but no real ones. Axel passed the letters over and Roxas tucked them away again.

"I got to stand guard at a social function, once, and heard the Duke refer to the Duchess as 'our little butterfly', which is exactly the phrase used in those letters. They also mention the ducal seat and meeting in the King's gardens. Then the half-written letter on the bottom refers to the Duke as 'my wild stallion.' I overheard the Duchess saying that rather flirtatiously once. The letters also have the Royal watermarks." Axel scratched his hair for a moment, eyes thoughtful. "It's not a wonderful case but get those into the hands of a competent mage, along with a sample of the Duke's and Duchess's handwriting, and there would be proof. Add in your testimony and it would be damning." He chuckled and Roxas glanced at him quizzically. "I bet the Duke told her to burn all his letters. Instead, she used the old hat trick. I swear, every love lost girl does that and thinks she's being so clever." Axel got to his feet and started out of their shelter, Roxas trailing behind.

"It's an old trick?" He asked. He'd never encountered it before. Axel nodded.

"You probably hadn't heard of it, since it's a device used in a rather popular romance novel." Roxas lifted his eyebrows at that. Somehow he couldn't picture Axel reading romance novels. "I was forced to read it for a reading comprehension exam, back when I arrived at the academy. I've blotted most of it out but I still remember the hat."

"Apparently, everyone does." Roxas said dryly and made a mental note not to try that trick himself. "Are we still going to be following the road?" He desperately wanted new boots and they needed more supplies. Axel nodded.

"Yes, we need to buy some things at the next town. You'll have to stay out of sight though. I could buy – no, you should steal some boots." He said. Roxas was a bit surprised by the echo of his own thoughts.

"Should we steal some horses too?" He asked. Axel considered it a moment then shook his head.

"No. For starters, I don't like stealing from farmers. Losing a couple horses would be a heavy loss for them. Second, they'd leave a much larger trail and it would be hard for me to hide. You realize that the Duke and Duchess could possibly call on Windriders?" Axel's tone was very serious and Roxas swallowed at the thought. Before now he'd have been worried but not afraid. Now that he knew how competent Axel was, the thought of facing several like him was frightening. "They'd have to come up with an interesting story, but we can't count on that not happening. It's time to be paranoid."

"I'm always paranoid." Roxas said grimly, then managed a small smile. "But then, it's not paranoia when they're really out to get you." And in this case, they were definitely out to get him. The only one he could trust was Axel. If he could trust Axel. But Roxas thought he could. It wasn't like handing him over to the Duke and Duchess would get him back in the academy. It might get him a reward, but perhaps not even that. If they suspected he knew the truth, it would probably be a knife in the back and unmarked grave.

Being a fag was bad, but incest of this sort was so much worse.


	4. The Backstory and Other Things

Roxas suppressed a cough as he quietly searched the house. It was broad daylight but luck was with him and everyone was out at the market or working outside. Not that he was stealing much. He found what he wanted in a hall closet. Stout walking boots, quite old and worn. Roxas tried them on and was satisfied with the fit. They were a bit big, but a few pairs of socks would easily fix that. He went back outside and stole some socks from the laundry line, along with a pair of clothes that would probably fit him. Just basic work clothes, but that was all the better. When the family noticed the losses they would probably think the items had just been misplaced. This was a fine house for such a small town, so it would hardly be a loss for them. Not that Roxas cared about that.

Axel did care about it though. Roxas smiled to himself as he thought about it. The redhead was really very squeamish about stealing things. Even though Roxas could probably have stolen everything they needed, he'd insisted on walking into town to purchase supplies. Roxas hadn't really fought him that hard since a rash of thefts could have advertised his passage, but that hadn't been the reason for Axel's objection. Axel couldn't handle stealing from peasants who likely needed every coin to see them through the winter.

_And he has a point._ Roxas admitted to himself. He didn't much like the thought of people starving because of his actions either. _Bah._ Roxas shook his head. If it came down to it, he would steal what they needed. He and Axel were facing direct threats, not a hypothetical possibility of future distress.

The roads were being patrolled by more of the woman's men. At least one had gone by in livery that looked like the King's colors. It could have been a Windrider although Axel couldn't say for certain. That was alarming. Even more alarming in a different way was the fact that Roxas wasn't feeling good. He had a suspicious tightness in his chest that made him think he was coming down with something. If they were lucky it was only a cold. Axel didn't think they would be lucky.

_Sorry Roxas, but you're a city boy. This travelling is hard until you get used to it, and we're not well equipped. I wouldn't be surprised if you've caught something._ Roxas reached the rendezvous point and got down his bag, packing away the extra clothes. He'd wait until he could wash again before putting them on. Putting on clean clothes right now, even work clothes, would feel like a desecration. It didn't take very long for Axel to join him. The redhead was carrying a full backpack and looked pleased.

"I got everything we need." He said. "As well as a few extras." Roxas lifted his eyebrows as Axel pulled something out of his bag. A copper pot with bottles inside? "Some herbal medicines, the type that actually work. They should help you out a bit. And also some dye, the kind that can be used on hair as well as clothes." Axel smiled Roxas touched his hair. "It won't help your features, but a darker color and a false name might get you by for a while." Roxas nodded. The pot had a handle so they could easily hang it over the fire. It wouldn't be hard to apply the dye, although Roxas wondered how much it would actually help. The sketch was pretty good. "I also got some more blister cream, although I'm not too sure about that. It's not a type I'm familiar with." Axel seemed a bit distressed by that and Roxas understood why. Too many remedies were highly adulterated with who knows what. The most harmless were the 'cure all' nostrums that were mostly alcohol. As another thief had once quipped, you were still sick but too drunk to care.

"I'm sure it will be fine. I got some proper boots, so I should be doing better soon." Roxas said with a smile. His feet still hurt, of course, but he could already tell these boots were going to be better. They were worn but the soles were still nice and thick. "Ready to go?"

"Of course." They set off through the brush again, Axel concealing their tracks. "Roxas, I was wondering." Axel said casually, but Roxas caught the tension in the set of his shoulders. "What are your plans?"

"Uh." Roxas grimaced at the question. It was a fair one, but also difficult. "I don't know. Would your family hide me?" He had his doubts and Axel frowned thoughtfully.

"Normally, no. They're not fond of thieves. But now they must be about as furious at the King as they are at me." Axel's tone was grim and Roxas tried to imagine what his homecoming would be like. His imagination failed, which was probably for the best. "They'll keep you safe just to spite him and his in-laws." Axel sounded quite confident of that and Roxas nodded. "My family home is well fortified. It would take a significant force to winkle you out, and explaining why they were laying siege to a lord over a thief would take some doing." Roxas glanced at Axel sharply. When they were talking about his family, the redhead had made it sound like they were minor nobility at most. He'd mentioned a sawmill they owned… they had a fortified manor as well? Good enough that it could hold off a force? He considered questioning Axel then decided to let it pass. If the redhead wanted to pretend to be more common than he was, that was his business. "But what do you want to do with the letters?"

"Hm." Roxas pursed his lips as he thought. That was a thorny question. "I'm not sure. Giving them to someone and giving testimony could earn me a rich reward, but…" Roxas grimaced and Axel's lips quirked. The blonde thought they were both thinking the exact same thing, and Axel confirmed it a moment later.

"But most nobles don't feel bound to honor agreements with commoners. As for criminals, they're worth nothing but a shiv in the back or a bit of poison." Axel said, his tone touched with contempt. Roxas nodded, feeling a flash of old bitterness. Sometimes people commissioned him to steal specific items, and Roxas had made the mistake of dealing directly with nobles twice. They had tried to cheat him both times and he'd been able to do nothing to get his payment. After the second time, he'd made an oath to never deal with a noble except through a fence. They could pay him, and then the fence could worry about getting paid. He'd make less but at least he wouldn't get fleeced. "If you decide to sell the letters and your testimony, we could work through my father." Axel said and Roxas considered the idea. He didn't know Axel's father but the redhead's squeamishness about stealing would surely turn into outright rebellion at the thought of murdering his employer. "He'll want a percentage of the profit, but you won't have to worry about being killed."

"Maybe." Roxas wasn't going to commit himself until he'd met Axel's parents. "Or we could leave the Kingdom." That was the other option. He wasn't too thrilled with it though. His original home had been in a different land and he knew how difficult it was to adapt to a new land. Most of their neighbors spoke different languages and had different sects of the same religion. One was full of heretics. "I don't really want to do that." Roxas finally admitted. "I'm shit at languages. It took me years to learn this one." His time working in the chocolate shop had been invaluable for that. Dealing with customers had really helped him along, and he'd finally become fluent. Now this tongue was as easy for him as his native one. "And going home is out of the question." The Emperor would NOT be welcoming him back, and that was several countries away anyway. He'd travelled almost three months before he finally felt safe. Axel nodded although he was clearly curious.

"I speak several languages. If you want to leave the Kingdom, I'll go with you." That surprised Roxas and he gave Axel a questioning look. The redhead shrugged. "Windrider's have to speak at least four tongues. It's part of our lessons and the instruction was a bit intense. We had to speak them at all times."

"Ah." Roxas winced at the thought although he was sure it was an effective learning program. "Thank you." He wouldn't have blamed Axel if the redhead had decided his duty was done when they reached his family. Something of that must have showed in his expression because the redhead frowned.

"I always see my commitments through." Axel said firmly. They walked in silence then, conserving their breath for the journey. They had to climb over a small stone ridge and Roxas was grateful for his new boots. It would have been easier to climb in his old boots, but the stone would have cut into them cruelly. A short time later, Axel made a small hand gesture and Roxas stopped dead in his tracks. That meant the redhead had picked up some sign of game. He slid an arrow into his bow and began silently pacing forward…

A small flock of birds suddenly exploded from the underbrush and Axel's bow hummed. Roxas grinned as one of the birds came tumbling down. With the pot, perhaps they could make a soup. Roxas coughed and massaged his throat, hoping that would occur to Axel. A bit of soup mixed with that herbal medicine would be perfect.

"A pheasant." Axel passed the bird over to Roxas, who took it and slung it over his back. The readhead needed his hands free to handle his bow so letting the blonde take the bird was only logical. "It'll be good eating. I'll look for some wild roots and things, so we can make a soup." He said and Roxas laughed.

"Just what I was thinking!" He smiled at Axel and the redhead smiled back. As they walked, Roxas reflected on how comfortable he felt with Axel. It was a nice feeling, but Roxas wasn't sure if he could trust it. He hadn't trusted many people in his short life, and those few times had proved to be a mistake.

They didn't manage to find a really good camp that night, but Axel had filled up all of their canteens and bought two extra at the village. So instead of digging for water, he set to finding edibles as Roxas cleaned and plucked the bird. It was a tedious and time consuming process but he found it oddly soothing. A good time to think about his plans for the future and consider the décor for his chocolate shop. Roxas really wanted something reminiscent of his old home in the Empire. That would mean white walls and bright murals, if he could find anyone talented enough. If not, maybe he could go with wood. Varnished oak and lovely little pedestals with directed lights to showcase the elegant chocolates in their velvet lined boxes… and for the chocolates themselves, Roxas had plans to try a blueberry and cognac truffle. Champagne truffles, of course, that was a given. Perhaps he could experiment with olive oil or bacon? Savory chocolates had just been coming into fashion when Roxas had left the chocolate shop.

"Edible mushrooms!" Roxas looked up as Axel slipped out the trees, barely managing to carry handfuls of white mushrooms. Roxas eyed them in alarm. He'd come close to starving once and he still hadn't been willing to eat wild mushrooms. So many of them were deadly poisonous. "They're safe." Axel assured him, setting them down and stealing a bit of the water to wash them. "I ate a whole one already."

"Axel!" Roxas wasn't sure whether to laugh or swear. "That's the worst way to test mushrooms I've ever heard of." Axel shrugged and grinned so innocently that Roxas suspected he'd used something else as well. Magic perhaps? "Well, I suppose I'll eat them. And if I die I'm haunting you."

"That would be a trick since I'd be dead too – hist!" Roxas vanished into the shadows as they both heard the sound of hoofbeats. Axel grabbed his bow and sword, putting them out of sight but within easy reach. Roxas drew out his dagger as the horseman reached the camp.

"What's this?" Roxas eyed the man with disfavor. He was young, with thick brown hair, square features and small piggy eyes. He was already developing a small paunch and was wearing the livery of some local lordling. "Poaching on the King's land, are you?" Roxas tensed at that. Poaching was a hanging offense, although Axel hadn't seemed concerned when he went hunting.

"M'lord?" Axel sounded bewildered and more than a little stupid. "I was told the King don't mind?" Roxas watched as the man sneered, clearly thinking Axel was a country boy. Axel dipped his head, alarm on his face, but Roxas noticed the tension in his shoulders. That was anger but it would take someone familiar with the redhead to spot it.

"Well, you thought wrongly! I should bring you to the magister. But it would be a long trip." The man said in a more conciliatory tone. Roxas eased his knife back into its sheath, easily understanding what this was about. Axel caught the broad hint as well and nodded, relief and resignation flashing over his features.

"I don't have much m'lord, but…" The redhead fished out a handful of copper and the man looked it over before nodding acceptance.

"It will do." He grumbled before taking the coins. "Make sure you aren't caught at this again, or I won't go so easy a second time." Roxas sighed in disgust, almost wishing he'd stabbed this cretin in the back. Although he was going to question Axel about the poaching. Axel dipped his head.

"Thank you m'lord." Roxas caught the gritted teeth behind the false humility but the man was indifferent, mounting his horse and leaving the camp without a backward glance. Roxas waited until he was sure the man was gone before coming out of the shadows. Axel was swearing quietly now as he chopped up the mushrooms and threw them in the pot. Roxas picked up the pheasant and passed it to him wordlessly, and the redhead took out his frustration by hacking it into pieces before tossing it into the pot.

"Feeling better?" Roxas asked dryly and Axel took a deep breath before nodding. "What was that all about? Besides the obvious." Roxas understood shakedowns very well. Axel stirred the soup as he answered.

"Technically, hunting alongside the King's highway is poaching." Roxas lifted his eyebrows at the anger in the redhead's voice. "In reality, the King discourages any kind of enforcement. The whole reason behind poaching laws is to keep the game for the nobles' hunts, and the King isn't going to be hunting here. Also, plenty of foreign merchants travel this road and other lands have different customs. However, since the laws are still in the books petty officials can use it to extort bribes. As you just saw." Axel's tone had gone from angry to sour and he sighed, shaking his head. "I shouldn't let it bother me. I just hate petty graft."

"I see." Roxas took a seat by the fire, looking into the flames. He shivered after a moment. The sun was beginning to set and there was a growing breeze. "I don't suppose you picked up a blanket?" To his surprise, Axel nodded.

"Yes. It's not much of one, really, but it's in the bag." Roxas searched through the bag and quickly pulled it out. It was tattered, frayed and patched in a few places but still felt good wrapped around him. "Uh, I could only buy one. I mean, if I'd bought two it would have been odd." Axel sounded tense as well as embarrassed. Roxas blinked at him a moment, then understood. Axel still wasn't aware of his preferences.

"It's not a problem, we can share." Roxas said with a warm smile. Axel blinked, taken aback by that quick acceptance. "I trust you not to molest me." Axel flushed bright red as Roxas laughed to himself. _But I might molest you._ He thought as Axel bent over the pot with assiduous care.

"So how did you become a shadow thief?" Axel asked and Roxas grimaced slightly at the subject change. It wasn't something he liked to talk about and normally he'd have told Axel that it was none of his business. But the redhead had earned more than that from him.

"I was picked out a small child." Roxas said briefly. "I was an orphan." He added as Axel glanced at him curiously. "I don't know how they picked us out." He shrugged as Axel stirred the soup some more.

"That's a bit terse." Axel's voice had a hint of laughter and Roxas glared at him, annoyed. "Could you tell me more? I'm really quite curious." Roxas frowned then smiled as a thought occurred to him.

"If you level with me about the things you Windrider's can do, I'll tell you everything." Roxas had the satisfaction of seeing Axel wince. "Really, what loyalty do you still owe them?" Axel blew out a breath then shrugged.

"Roxas, the powers that be might have cast me out but the other men in my class are still friends. And some of the teachers were like fathers to me. I suppose… do you swear not to sell this information?" Axel sounded very serious now and Roxas met his eyes, feeling an odd shiver down his spine. "It could hurt a lot of people if you do."

"Of course I won't." Roxas said instantly. "I'm not a spy. I have no idea who would buy information or how to sell it." His lips tightened for a moment as he thought about that. "If I did, this whole mess with the letters would be much simpler." Axel nodded.

"Well, I trust you. Alright. Windrider training includes basic cantrips, but you already know that." Roxas nodded. "During our last year, we gradually are given mystical tattoos." Roxas blinked, then gave Axel a dirty look. He's watched the redhead bathe and he was absolutely certain there had been no tattoos on him. Axel hastily continued his explanation. "They're not real tattoos. They're… imprinted in our auras. It's a painful and difficult process. It has to be done gradually and they only give as many as the candidate can handle." Axel paused, his eyes shadowed. "I could handle more than most. I almost had the full set when I was expelled. The only ones I was missing were the ones that ensure loyalty to the King." Roxas stared at him, taken aback.

"And they let you live?" He was a bit amazed by that. Axel shrugged.

"I am the son of a noble." He pointed out. "And the tattoos aren't really that powerful. Each one has a very specific use. One of them lets me check food for poisons." Roxas glanced at the pot and the mushrooms inside. "Another lets me look like a corpse." Roxas blinked and Axel grinned. "Very useful in many circumstances, but you can see why we keep it a secret."

"Of course." If their enemies had any idea of that, they would probably take to stabbing any 'dead' Windrider to be on the safe side. "What else?" This was fascinating. Roxas understood what Axel meant by imprinting something on the aura. In fact, that was related to his own abilities, although what he'd undergone couldn't be described as a tattoo.

"Well, I can see in the dark. I can heal, but that's very draining to me." Axel tasted the soup and grimaced, adding a bit of salt. "I can detect magic and I can try to dispel it, although that usually doesn't work. I can…" Axel hesitated and Roxas stared at him until he continued. "I can make a grease smear."

"You can WHAT?" Roxas couldn't figure that one out. Axel grinned, a touch naughtily.

"It's not one of the usual spells. My aura was holding up so well that they gave me a few extra. Basically, I can make a large greasy patch on the ground or coat an item in grease. It has more applications than you might think." Roxas imagined a group of enemies running and suddenly encountering a greasy patch on the ground. That would be useful for a thief, actually. "And I can do fairy dust. That's a golden spray that coats everything. It can blind enemies and makes it impossible for them to hide."

"Huh. That's interesting." Roxas said. Individually, every spell Axel had named was fairly minor. Taken together, though, and paired with Axel's weapon skills, it was an impressive assortment. "I'm beginning to see why Windriders are elite troops. How often can you use these tattoos?" Were they limited to once a day or once a week? Axel frowned.

"As many times as I can stand. It varies according to which spell I use… healing wears me out fast. Darkvision I can use for as long as I like. Grease I can use a few times a day. It varies." Axel began ladling out the soup and Roxas licked his lips. "I think the pheasant is cooked. It's going to be tough though." He warned and Roxas shrugged. He'd expected that. Like most meat, pheasant benefited from aging. Axel pulled out the bottle of medicine and mixed it into Roxas' portion. "Here you go." He handed over the bowl and Roxas began to eat, grimacing a little at the medicinal flavor. The mushrooms and pheasant helped though, and so did the salt. The soup was thick with barley as well and Roxas wondered when Axel had put that in. He knawed on a piece of partridge, working the meat off the bone. Even after a few hours of boiling, it was still tough. But it was surprisingly tasty and Roxas set to it with a will. For a time they ate in silence but Axel finally broke the trance.

"You were going to tell me about how you became a shadow thief?" He reminded the blonde and Roxas sighed, taking another spoonful of soup before speaking.

"If you want. I was picked when I was maybe five or six." Roxas couldn't remember much of the time before that, but he recalled being hungry all the time. Being an orphan in the Empire was no picnic. "They took me out of the orphanage, gave me food and started training me. Before long, they put me to work. Children can get into places adults can't." Roxas couldn't help the bitterness in his voice. As a child, he'd thought it was all a grand lark… until one of his friends got caught and maimed. That had brought home the dangers. "At first I was given nothing but food, shelter and some candied naga berries." Axel blinked at that and Roxas smiled sourly.

"But those are a drug!" Axel protested and Roxas shrugged. "They gave them to children?" The blonde nodded. Axel was quite right. The naga berries gave the user a light euphoria and relaxation.

"To prime us for the refined drug." Roxas said and Axel swallowed, shock on his face. "After we turned ten, we were graciously allowed to keep one part in ten of what we stole." Roxas couldn't help the sarcasm. He was still bitter and didn't really care if Axel knew. "We were given Naja paste on bread when we did particularly well. It was a much more intense high." A truly glorious euphoria and a stretching of time. "Most of the others were hopelessly addicted, but somehow, it never touched me." Roxas suspected that was partly physical and partly his personality. He'd even started carefully disposing of the bread, when he realized how much the drug served to trap them. "That's how I was able to leave the Empire. Most of the others probably died because they couldn't bear to leave their drug." Roxas was sure at least a few of the others had escaped, but not many. The withdrawal from the paste was debilitating. "As for my ability to meld with the darkness, it's actually similar to your 'tattoos'. But more specific and powerful. My aura was permanently altered and I can merge into the darkness at will." There was no drain to him at all, not like Axel had described. On the other hand, the blonde only had one special ability. "And that's that." Roxas shrugged and Axel nodded.

"That's horrible." The redhead said, his voice subdued. "Using children that way." He still seemed shocked and Roxas decided not to point out that children that young were often lost to alcohol in the slums here. Axel probably knew. And to be fair, alcohol was a much easier habit to break.

"It was what it was. I'm not unhappy about where I've ended up, although I'm glad the masters are all dead." He said firmly. "Although I wish the Emperor had shown some restraint." He added darkly. Roxas knew for certain that all the children taken by the guild had been massacred. The Emperor had been determined to see the organization was stamped out once and for all. "Well, I'm ready to sleep." It was full dark out. Axel nodded and hesitated a moment.

"Are you sure you don't mind? I could go without a blanket." The redhead sounded anxious and Roxas gave him an amused smile. "Really, I wouldn't mind a bit."

"Oh, Axel." Roxas debated what to do a moment and finally made a decision. Melting briefly into the shadows he caught Axel off guard, sliding into his lap and putting his arms around the redhead's neck. Axel's green eyes went wide as the blonde slid a hand into his pants. To Roxas surprised, the redhead tried to push him off.

"Roxas, I'm not going to satisfy your curiosity." Axel sounded grim and Roxas snorted, surprised and amused. "Look, just because I am the way I am doesn't mean I'm available to anyone who wants me!" Axel sounded truly distressed now. Roxas smiled to himself but tried to take it seriously.

"Axel, you're a bit dense. I've been watching you the whole time. You didn't even notice?" Roxas laughed at Axel's dumbfounded expression. "I've always been this way… I'm just very good at hiding it. Unlike you." Axel winced and Roxas felt almost guilty. But that feeling quickly vanished as he gripped the redhead's manhood again. "And we're in mortal danger and I like you, so I don't see why we shouldn't." True, it wasn't a good idea to mix business and pleasure. But Roxas was past caring. He'd come to know Axel well enough to find him very attractive, and it had been a while since his last lover. His body had needs and from the way Axel was hardening under his fingers, so did his. Axel drew a hitching breath and spoke again.

"Roxas, I'm really not su-mph!" Roxas decided to silence him with a kiss. There was a moment of resistance before it suddenly melted away and he smiled to himself, stroking the redhead expertly. Axel's hands were pressed against his back, not trying to push him away any longer. No, the redhead was bringing him closer now.

"I hope you got some oil with those supplies." Roxas muttered and Axel shook his head, a touch confused. "Damn. Well, I'll have to make do." The redhead looked at him uncomprehendingly and Roxas smiled to himself, remembering that his only experiences had been with a whore. That had probably given Axel a skewed understanding of things. "Hmm…" Roxas decided the foot cream would do. It was soothing stuff. He didn't take much but Axel's eyes widened as he saw what Roxas was doing with it.

"Roxas, that stuff isn't supposed to go there!" Axel reached out as if to stop him then hesitated. Roxas laughed as he used the cream, stretching himself expertly, his pants around his knees.

"I'm not letting you go inside me without it. And I assume you've never been the one on the bottom?" He asked. Axel's quick headshake confirmed his suspicions. "Just relax. You're going to learn something new today." Roxas quickly decided that he wanted the redhead to take him from behind. The grass was soft on his knees as he knelt in front of him. They were both still mostly clothed but that made it better somehow, more immediate. Roxas groaned as he felt the redhead at his entrance. Axel eased in slowly, almost as if he was afraid the blonde would break.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Axel to find his stride. Roxas gasped in pleasure as a warm, callused hand found his throbbing length and began to stroke him in time with every thrust. Axel was going quickly, a little too quickly and Roxas turned his head to breath in his ear.

"Take your time. Make it last." He gasped out as the redhead hit that special spot inside, making him see stars. "Ah!" That was good but he wanted _more._ Axel grunted and slowed his pace, pulling himself back. Roxas could feel the struggle of it.

"Trying." Axel managed to say and Roxas loved the way his voice sounded. That warm tone filled with hot desire was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. "God, Roxas, you feel so good…" Axel's thrusts were controlled now and Roxas gripped the grass hard as the redhead kissed the back of his neck. The warm velvet of his lips was such a contrast to the hard heat inside him, hitting him in just the right way to almost make the blonde scream. "So tight, ah!" Axel gripped his hips, pulling him even closer and Roxas whimpered in pleasure as he was filled almost to bursting. "I can't… can't…" Roxas closed his eyes as Axel's thrusts speeded up again and abandoned himself to the feeling. Letting Axel carry him on a tidal wave of pleasure.

They both came together, a melding of ecstasy that was as intense as it was unexpected. Roxas slid down, onto his side and gazed into the fire with suddenly heavy eyes. Axel was still behind him, stroking his hair and murmuring sweet nothings in his ear. Roxas vaguely knew he should get up, help the redhead bank the fire, but he couldn't find the will to care. This was warm and perfect and safe.

He gave himself over to that feeling and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	5. Pneumonia sucks

To Roxas surprise, the next morning was tense.

Breakfast was a largely silent affair as the two of them finished off the soup and added a bit of trail bread and cheese. A hearty start to the day, but Axel seemed to hardly taste it, staring into the fire with a foreboding expression as he ate. Roxas enjoyed the silence at first, but it eventually became more oppressive than anything and he cleared his throat.

"Why are you so gloomy?" He asked as Axel's head swung to look at him. Roxas really wasn't sure why the redhead was acting like this. He'd had plenty of misgivings about his reaction, but he'd expected the ex-Windrider to go in the direction of being clingy. There was a long pause and Roxas lifted his eyebrows as he realized Axel was ignoring him. "Axel? This is your employer talking." Axel's gaze turned into a glare.

"Why?" He said harshly and Roxas sat back on his heels, stunned. What kind of a question was that?

"Why not?" He asked reasonably and blinked as Axel's glare turned poisonous. "We could die at any time. You're attractive and I was interested. Why not?" He shrugged, unable to articulate it any further. Really, there was nothing deep to it at all. Just a pair of men doing what nature had primed them to do. Axel's gaze fell to his bowl as though he could find some meaning in the gloppy soup.

"I suppose." He murmured and Roxas frowned. The redhead sounded resigned and not at all happy. This was getting a bit insulting.

"What, was it that bad?" Axel twitched and Roxas wondered. Had he hit a nerve?

"You were fine. How bad was I?" Axel asked and there was a dry, biting humor in the question that struck Roxas as completely unlike him. "Don't lie. I know I'm terrible." Roxas blinked in surprise. Terrible?

"What are you talking about? You were fine." Roxas said immediately. Axel shook his head and the blonde frowned, feeling almost insulted again. "Well, you were fine until the next morning when you started acting like a girl!" Roxas snapped and had the satisfaction of seeing the tips of Axel's ears turn red. "Really, if I wanted a woman I could find one." He muttered. "Who told you that?" He asked. Unless they were ridiculously egotistical, every young man had a few doubts about his skill in bed. Roxas thought it was only healthy. But this level of doubt seemed to indicate something more.

"My…" Axel took a deep breath. "You know how I got kicked out of the Windrider academy." He said abruptly and Roxas nodded. "My… lover at the time was a whore. I knew that but I thought, well. He said even whores had special lovers. He said I was that to him." Axel swallowed and Roxas felt a stirring of anger. He knew where this story was going. "But when I didn't have money anymore he – he wasn't interested. And when I pressed him on why he said he told me what I wanted to hear." Axel stopped for a moment, staring into the nearly dead fire. Roxas could detect the faint sheen of moisture in his eyes. "He said I was not the lover he would have picked." He finally said and Roxas was sure that was a very sanitized version of what had actually been said. He felt a flash of anger at the unknown whore. Harshness had probably been necessary, but why lie to Axel in the first place?

"For bigger tips." He muttered to himself, then raised his voice. "Axel, you're not bad. Really." Axel shook his head and Roxas smiled thinly. "I'm not saying you're the best I ever but since he was the village cart, I think I'd prefer a little less practiced."

"The village cart?" The redhead asked, distracted from his misery by the mystery. Roxas realized he'd translated the phrase literally and it made no sense in this tongue.

"Everyone gets a ride." He qualified and Axel choked. "Really, don't worry about it. You were fine. And I can always help you." Roxas had a few ideas of things he could introduce Axel to. A bit of bondage… would the redhead mind being tied up? Axel frowned and got up, taking the pot off the fire and giving it a quick rinse with a bit of water. Roxas began putting out the fire with handfuls of dirt.

"You'll tell me if I'm doing it wrong?" He asked, his voice low. Roxas sighed to himself and nodded. From the uncertainty in Axel's eyes, he was sure there would be more reassurance needed in the future. Oh well. It was better than puppy-like devotion. "Okay. We better get moving."

"Right." They had wasted too much time already. Soon they were moving, paralleling the road. There was more traffic now and they easily passed a long string of mules carrying something in heavy burlap sacks. Roxas wondered what it was.

"Salt caravan, probably." Axel murmured in his ear and Roxas blinked. The redhead could be very perceptive sometimes. "There's not much in the way of salt near my home and it's a critical military resource."

"It is?" Roxas was a bit startled at that. Salt was important, of course. In many places salt, not gold, was symbolic of wealth. But a critical military resource? "Er, why?" That was probably a stupid question but he was curious. Axel flashed him a grin.

"Soldiers need salt as much as food. In fact, the two go together. Salted meat and salted fish are the primary rations. And of course horses need a lot of salt." Axel thought about it a moment. "About… six teaspoons of salt a day. It varies a bit by how much work their doing. The heavier the work, the more salt a horse needs."

"I didn't know that." Roxas knew almost nothing about horses and was impressed by the amount. Six teaspoons wasn't a huge amount, but six teaspoons a day would quickly add up. "I can see what you mean now." Everyone knew how important horses were to the army. The quality of cavalry could make or break a force. "There's a fortress near your home?"

"Oh yes." Roxas cocked his head at the odd bitterness in Axel's voice, but the redhead didn't explain. "Hm." Roxas followed his gaze. There was a soldier quickly overtaking the salt caravan. "A courier." Roxas tried to tell how Axel knew that, but then gave up. It was his area of expertise.

"It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with us." He pointed out and Axel nodded, but the redhead's expression was dubious. Roxas shrugged to himself as they trudged onwards. The soldier outpaced them as easily as they had passed the caravan and soon they lost sight of him.

By mid-afternoon they had reached a river. Unfortunately, this was not a good thing.

"Damn." Axel muttered as he surveyed the roadblock. Roxas glanced down at the river dubiously. This was clearly a major waterway, with very high banks. It would be difficult to get out of but that didn't worry him as much as the current. It was very swift and looked deep. The swirls in the water looked suspicious as well. "I was afraid of this."

"Axel? Can we swim that?" Roxas was highly dubious and bit his lip as Axel shook his head.

"I probably could, but it would be dangerous. There are a lot of rapids and undertows in this river. How well do you swim?" Axel asked and Roxas shook his head.

"Not that well. Not enough practice." There was really nowhere to practice swimming in the city. He'd been taught the basics in a pool at the guild's headquarters, so he could escape through water, but his teachers hadn't been interested in making him very proficient. "Is there a ferry?"

"Yes, but it's probably a week's travel up the river." Axel's voice was expressionless but Roxas winced. "And we'd have to reveal ourselves to the ferrymen. I doubt even a shadow thief could sneak onboard." Roxas wasn't too sure about that either. It depended on how crowded the boat was. Someone could run into him purely by accident and then there would be hell to pay. The ex-windrider fingered an arrow and looked at the roadblock thoughtfully. Roxas gave it his attention as well. There were perhaps six men behind a rather makeshift barricade. Roxas thought he could slip behind them if he put his mind to it. "But if we… disposed of these men, we could easily dump the bodies and those boxes into the river. They would float away in no time and the salt caravan wouldn't know the difference." Roxas considered the idea and decided he liked it. "You stay here. I'll take care of it."

"What? No!" Roxas exclaimed, but quietly. "I can sneak past them and stab a few in the back." The barricade wasn't that good and he was a shadow thief. Axel frowned at him.

"What about your cough?" He asked and Roxas glowered. Yes, he was strangling coughs all the time now, but what did Axel take him for?

"I've had to steal when I was sick before. The masters didn't give us breaks." He muttered. Although as a freelance thief, he usually did take breaks and pamper himself when he was ill. "It's not like it's going to take you long to attack." Axel hesitated, clearly weighing the benefits and dangers before he nodded.

"If you're going to do that then here's the plan." Roxas listened and nodded as Axel outlined his idea. It was really very simple but also quite effective. "I'll walk right up to them and start talking. Ask if they're hiring, that sort of thing. Then I'll ask if they want to see something interesting and snap one of their crossbow strings. That'll be your signal to stab someone. Right?"

"Right." Roxas thought it sounded like an excellent plan. He faded into the shadows as Axel checked his gear, then stepped out onto the road. The less than alert sentries didn't notice him exiting the woods but they did notice him walking up to the bridge. Axel paused a moment as if startled then kept going. The redhead naturally reached the barricade before Roxas, unencumbered by the need for stealth. He took his time chatting with the men though, gesturing with his bow.

"-I swear it's true!" The redhead was saying as Roxas got within hearing range. Two of the men had stepped out from behind the barricade and were looking at the ex-Windrider skeptically. "I, ah, had a falling out with the authorities. But I'm fully trained."

"Well, you'd have to ask the boss." One of the men said, rubbing an eyebrow as the other offered Axel a belt from his flask, which the redhead declined. "But that might come in handy. Though I can't see why they're putting in so much effort for a stupid thief." Roxas made a mental note to himself. These men didn't know he was a shadow thief. Slipping behind the barricade was very difficult but he managed it. Now all he had to wait for was Axel's sign. The redhead was clearly giving him as much time as he could.

"You know, I can prove it to you. Want to see what a Windrider can do?" Axel finally offered and Roxas got ready. "Watch this!" He gestured to one of the men behind the barricade, who had his hand sitting on a crossbow. The string abruptly parted, lashing the man on his arm and making him swear and grip himself. Then Roxas stabbed the man in front of him.

Axel's blade scraped free before the two men in front of him could do more than gape. His sword, enchanted for sharpness, took off one's head cleanly. He ran the other through and gestured again, ruining another crossbow as the owner tried to fire on him. That left two behind the barricade and Roxas grinned, feeling a strange mixture of exhilaration and fear as one of the men turned, trying to aim the crossbow at him. Unlike a shadow assassin, he couldn't maintain his shadow meld under such conditions and Roxas had to throw his dagger. It took the man in the throat and he went down in a spray of blood. Roxas blinked as he realized it was over. Axel had gotten over the barricade somehow and neatly decapitated the last one.

"That was a little hairy. That last one almost shot me." Axel commented as he bent down to search the bodies. Roxas swayed on his feet, feeling a little faint. He'd killed before, of course, but he'd never really gotten used to it. "Can you start throwing this stuff in the river?"

"Huh? Oh sure." Roxas took a deep breath and pulled himself together. He picked up the crossbows first. "Such a shame." He muttered to himself. All this gear was worth quite a bit, even if it wasn't in the best shape. Something flew past his shoulder and Roxas stared as it slapped into the water. "Axel, did you just throw a head into the water?"

"Yep." Axel sounded cheerful and Roxas swallowed his nausea. Didn't it bother him at all? But then, the redhead had been training to kill for a very long time. "Faster than making a trip just for the heads." Roxas went for the barricade as Axel muscled a body off the bridge. "I hope it doesn't bother you, but I love fighting. And it feels good to do what I'm trained for again." Roxas looked up from his work to meet concerned green eyes. Had Axel noticed that he was a bit sickened by the slaughter?

"It's what I hired you for." He said briefly and Axel frowned. "But I'm not an assassin. Death does bother me a bit." Roxas had threatened people many times, but he'd only killed twice until today. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." He would put it behind him before very long. It had been necessary to save his own life. Much like the other times he'd killed, actually. Axel nodded.

"That's fine. If you need a moment just let me know." Roxas shook his head. It took a while to get everything into the river and by the time they were done Roxas was very glad the muleteers were moving so slowly. Although there was one problem.

"That caravan is going to know something died here." He pointed out. It really was blindingly obvious. The human body contained a lot of blood and most of it was sprayed across the bridge and the road. Axel shrugged.

"There's nothing we can do about that." He replied and Roxas nodded. There really was nothing they could do to disguise such extensive stains. "Hopefully they'll think a wolf caught a deer or something. And it will take some time for our enemies to discover this roadblock is gone."

"I hope so." Roxas decided not to worry about it. There was nothing they could do except cover their tracks well. Axel made sure to eliminate their tracks as they walked across the bridge and went back into the forest. Roxas coughed, rubbing his throat as they resumed walking.

Axel tried to catch food for them on as they walked, but he only lost an arrow before they stopped for the night. They both made do on dried, salted jerky, hard bread and cheese. Axel found them some dandelion leaves and Roxas ate them dutifully. They didn't taste very good raw but he did think they were nutritious. Axel was eyeing him sidelong and Roxas debated for a moment before deciding honesty would probably be best.

"I'm not feeling sexy at all. Too grubby and too sick." He said bluntly and Axel nodded, relief and disappointment flashing across his face. "But could you hold me?" The wind was picking up and he felt cold. Axel blinked as he absorbed that request.

"Gladly." Roxas smiled at the warmth in the redhead's voice. The way Axel's arms went around him and the heat of his body was even better. Roxas rested his head on Axel's chest and let himself feel safe. It was probably an illusion but it was still nice.

He would take what he could get.

* * *

><p>Roxas blew his nose into his hands and wiped the result off on a tree.<p>

"Hey! Don't leave a trail." Axel's voice was full of laughter and Roxas turned to glower at him. "Just kidding." He added quickly and the blonde shook his head.

"Tracked by my snot trail. Sure." He grumbled and Axel patted him on the shoulder. "Let's just keep going." Things were shaping up and not in a good way. His cold was getting worse and Axel was worried it might turn into pneumonia. They had spotted more soldiers on the road but Axel couldn't be sure if it was normal traffic or more searchers. Also one man had passed by who made Axel go very quiet. It had taken some very pointed prodding from Roxas but the redhead had finally he recognized the man as a junior Windrider. But was he looking for them or just doing a circuit? Not even Axel could venture a guess. Just to add to the misery, they were running out of food as well.

The only positive in the situation was that they were only a few days away from Axel's home. Roxas was rather desperately looking forward to a soft bed and a full night's sleep, in a place he could really let his guard down. He was a bit worried about meeting Axel's parents. If they realized he and the redhead were lovers, well, things could get tricky. But the prospect of a bed easily outweighed that thought.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked Axel as the redhead clambered up a tree. The forest was thick here and he was trying to see if there was any cooking smoke rising through the canopy.

"Yes – ah!" The ex-Windrider came down much faster than he had gone up and Roxas winced at the shower of bark chips. "The village is close now. That direction." The redhead pointed and Roxas nodded.

"We're so close though. Couldn't we just push on?" The blonde asked. Axel frowned and shook his head.

"We're almost out of food and I'm just not having luck in the hunting lately." Axel sounded truly distressed at that and Roxas nodded. There was an element of luck to hunting and their luck had been very poor. So far the only prey they had spotted had been an enormous boar. Fortunately they'd seen it well before it had spotted them, and they had been safely in a tree as it snorted and rooted for acorns. "Having to follow the road doesn't help." Most of the game animals along the road were very used to being hunted by hungry travellers. "We could get by stretching it but I'm _sure_ you'd get pneumonia then. Being well-fed helps fight off disease." Roxas nodded reluctantly. He knew Axel was dead right about that and pneumonia was a serious illness.

"Alright. I'll wait here while you go get supplies." Roxas said and Axel nodded. The shadow thief watched as the redhead vanished into the woods and looked around for a good place to sit. He finally settled on a mossy patch at the base of a nearby tree. It wasn't very comfortable but it would do.

It took Axel a while to get back and Roxas found himself wishing for something to read. He wasn't a particularly good reader – lack of practice and lack of materials as a child – but it was something to do. He amused himself by trying to imagine the clientele of his prospective chocolate shop. It would have to cater to the wealthy, of course, chocolate was obscenely expensive. But what kind of wealthy? Nobles? Old money? Or would he cater to the nouveau rich, the merchant class that was a noteworthy force in this land? Roxas thought he would aim at the merchants. Most of the nobles already had chocolate shops they patronized, but there might be more room for a new shop in the merchant class. Also, they might be a bit less obnoxious although Roxas didn't have high hopes.

When Axel got back Roxas immediately knew something was wrong. He was carrying only a small bag and his expression was like thunder.

"We need to get moving right now." Axel growled and Roxas didn't question him. He was sure the other man would tell him the problem as they walked. "I can't believe it. Rasten was there and he saw me!"

"Who?" Roxas asked before remembering. "The junior Windrider?" His voice sharpened as Axel nodded. "What happened?"

"I lied my ass off, said I was going home and didn't want people to know about my disgrace. He seemed to buy it." Axel shook his head in disgust. "But he's going to talk to the villagers sooner or later and find out that I was passing myself off as a carpenter, and he'll wonder what I did with my gear. Damn! He's going to wonder more and more… this isn't good." Roxas privately thought Axel might be worried about nothing. The Windrider might have swallowed his story whole and thought nothing more of it.

But what if he hadn't? Roxas eyed Axel's back and decided the other Windrider would probably figure out there had been something off about the redhead. He'd clearly been given a nasty surprise and while some of that could be written off to the circumstances, not enough. And while there might be a chance Axel had raised no alarms it was better safe than sorry.

"So what are we doing?" Roxas asked. He thought he knew but he wanted to be sure.

"We'll have to make a run for it." Axel decided firmly and Roxas nodded. That made sense. "We'll travel through the night as much as we can. We need to reach my home as soon as possible now, and if we push it we can be there in a day. Oh, here." Axel passed him something and Roxas stared at what was in his hand. "Honeycomb. I had only gotten to one farmhouse when I ran into Rasten so I don't have too much. Just bread and honeycomb."

"It'll be fine." Roxas chewed on the piece of honey and wax. It was certainly energizing and very tasty. Could he make a chocolate with honey filling? Hmm. Perhaps a honey liqueur? Abandoning those thoughts, Roxas tried to put himself on alert. He wasn't an expert in the wilderness like Axel but he could still try to keep a lookout.

Hopefully it would be unnecessary.


	6. The Castle

They almost made it to Axel's home.

Almost, but not quite. Roxas almost died instantly. All that saved him was Axel's lunge and tackle, which gave him a good assortment of scrapes but also saved him from the arrow. It hissed overhead like a malignant bee and the two scrambled for safety. Axel steadied Roxas for a moment and the blonde cursed his own weakness. He was getting sicker but now was _not_ the time to faint!

"I know you have the thief, Axel. Hand him over and I'll let you go." Roxas grit his teeth in frustration at that soft call. The voice had an odd echoing quality and he couldn't pinpoint the location it was coming from. That had to be deliberate.

"When hell freezes over." Axel's call back was almost identical. Was that a Windrider trick? Roxas slipped out a knife and was going to meld with the shadows when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Axel wanted him to wait? "Why are you hunting a thief, Rasten? A bit of a comedown, isn't it?" Axel had his bow out and was stringing it when the other Windrider replied.

"It is as the King wills." That didn't sound promising and Roxas ventured a quick glance at Axel. The redhead shook his head and the blonde bit his lip. He wanted to try to sneak up behind the Windrider, but he thought he knew what Axel was thinking. Just being invisible wasn't enough to get the drop on a Windrider in the woods, at night. But if they stayed put they would be sitting ducks. What was Axel thinking?

"Well he wouldn't will it if he knew why his precious in-laws are hiding from him." Axel's voice was acidic and Roxas licked his lips. So that's what he was trying to do… turn the other Windrider to their side? "Like the proof of their infidelity?" There was a brief pause and a soft laugh.

"So this is what all this is about? Show me this proof and we'll see." Axel stood up and Roxas had a sudden terrible premonition. Returning the earlier favor, he lunged at the redhead and knocked him down just in time to avoid another arrow. The next arrow came cringingly close and Roxas quickly scuttled behind a tree as Axel swore under his breath. "What a shame... actually, I think I'll just kill you both. If there is proof, I can take it from your dead bodies and keep all the proceeds for myself. If not, I'll bring your heads to the Duke. Either way, I can't lose." Roxas ground his teeth at the smugness in that distant, echoing voice. Axel gestured violently to the left and he nodded, melding with the shadows and slipping through the trees. He would have to be very careful to move silently. The Windrider could see in the dark and he could be dead before he even knew what happened. An arrow thunked into the ground and Roxas winced. Even blind fire could be dangerous…

Roxas stepped on a branch and was rolling to the side before an arrow whistled in. He had to fight the urge to cough, strangling it desperately. This was not good, not good at all! But he needed to get closer. He needed to do it for Axel –

"HAH!" The triumphant cry was followed by a clash of metal on metal and Roxas sprinted towards the sound. Axel and the strange Windrider had both abandoned their bows and were engaged in a spirited swordfight. It was all going too fast for Roxas. He was no master of the sword and knew it, but he could recognize that mastery when he saw it. But what could he do?

Roxas flipped his knife to a throwing grip and waited for his moment. This would be dangerous. He could easily hit Axel but he had to do _something._ The moment finally came and he threw his knife, hitting the man on the shoulder. It was only a flesh would but Axel took advantage of the distraction, pressing his attack.

The end came almost too quickly for Roxas to see. Axel tripped, and the other Windrider went for the kill, but it was a trap! Axel's sword slipped up and past the stranger's guard and neatly tore his throat open. He collapsed on the ground, bleeding and dying. Roxas felt a tremendous relief then blinked as Axel gripped his arm.

"Shit!" Roxas hurried over then paused as he felt a wave of dizziness. His vision seemed to narrow and a moment later he saw Axel's concerned face.

Then everything went dark.

* * *

><p>Roxas groaned as Axel's shoulder dug painfully into his abdomen.<p>

Things were not going well at all. He'd fainted after the battle. Eventually he'd woken up to find that Axel was carrying him, and he'd tried to walk for a while, but he was too feverish and weak. Roxas wasn't sure how the redhead was managing everything. He wasn't thinking about it much, though. It was just a random thought going through his head when he had a lucid moment, and it was struggling to compete with the need to vomit.

There were lights now though. Roxas squirmed, wondering if the sun could be rising. But he didn't think it had been that long. No, the light was flickering and Axel was shouting something. A strange voice answered and the blonde staggered as Axel put him down again. Roxas grunted and tried to struggle as someone took his arm. But then Axel's hands were there and he was saying something soothing.

"We're home." Roxas blinked and tried to organize his thoughts. This didn't look anything like – oh, not his home, Axel's home. "There's going to be blankets and hot soup. Come on." Axel's arm was around him, supporting him and the stranger was helping from the other side. Roxas caught a confused glimpse of black stone as they escorted him through what looked like a courtyard. It seemed very big though. Hadn't Axel said he was a minor noble? Roxas considered questioning him then decided to save the energy. He had no energy at all to spare right now. Then Axel began to leave and he stiffened.

"Where are you going?" He managed to force out the words before having another coughing fit. Something warm was pushed into his hand and Roxas blinked at the cup before sipping it. To his surprise it was tea, sweetened with honey. Axel looked a bit surprised at the question.

"I have to go talk to my parents. The servants are already waking them up. Just let them take care of you Roxas, you'll be fine." Roxas considered that a moment then nodded. He was being unreasonable. Axel had to talk to his parents and they wouldn't want an audience for that chat. Axel might, but his parents wouldn't. "Just get better." Axel smiled but there was a worried edge to it. Roxas nodded again and surrendered himself to the care of the servants.

They were very practiced at this sort of thing and before he knew it, Roxas was dry, clean and wearing a nightshift. They tucked him into a large bed with plenty of comforters and plied him with hearty beef soup, probably leftover from the night before. As he struggled to eat Roxas finally became aware that he had been undressed by two women. He hadn't even noticed. How sick was he? A shiver answered that question. Even beneath three blankets, he felt so cold. The older of the two women tested his forehead and clucked her tongue. The second went to get something and Roxas found himself drinking an utterly foul concoction.

"Sorry lad. It's an herbal remedy, we make it with the cheapest wine we can find. The herbs taste bad, so there's no point in wasting a good wine on it." The woman said sympathetically. Roxas nodded, but wondered why they would use wine at all. Maybe it was just to make the patient feel better. Roxas wasn't sure how much it would help, but it did certainly help in one way. It helped him fall asleep.

They were finally safe.

* * *

><p>Roxas woke the next morning feeling utterly foul. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and his mouth tasted like something small had died in it. He drew a deep breath and discovered he still had a painful cough. But overall, his thoughts were clear. He blinked, clearing his eyes and noticing the glass of water on the bedstand beside him. He gripped it and drank it down, then groaned as he realized he needed to pee. Right now it seemed like too much effort but he finally pried himself out of his warm cocoon long enough to use the chamber pot. That duty done, he climbed back into bed.<p>

There was a sharp rap on the door before it opened. A maid opened the door and Roxas eyed the food on the tray with revulsion. He wasn't interested in toast or kippers. But there was a very nice bowl of broth and what looked like a teapot. Roxas was a bit surprised by that. Tea was expensive but it was so soothing on a sore throat, he desperately wanted it.

"Good morning. Are you feeling better?" The maid asked. Despite her words, the tone and her expression were very reserved and unwelcoming. Roxas quickly decided he didn't care. Her feelings about him were not his problem.

"Better. Tea?" He eyed the tray and she nodded. She flicked out some folding legs for it and helped prop Roxas up so he could eat easily in bed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Her tone was decidedly chilly now and Roxas wondered what the problem was. She walked out before he could decide to ask and the blonde shrugged to himself before applying himself to his food. The broth was as delicious as he'd thought, light and full of chicken flavor. With his throat eased a bit he even managed to nibble on the bread and the salted herring. He wasn't fond of salted fish but Roxas tried to eat it anyway. It was probably very nourishing. There was another knock at the door, this one much softer and Roxas took a drink of his tea before speaking.

"Come in." The door opened and Roxas smiled as he saw Axel. The redhead was looking good, clean and wearing a dark blue printed cotton shirt. The only sign of their encounter in the woods was a bandage on his left arm. He smiled cheerfully enough but Roxas spotted the darkness in his eyes. "How long have I been out?" He asked. From the taste of his mouth, it had been a while. Axel's eyes warmed as he pulled a chair from against the wall and took a seat beside his bed.

"Two days. It wasn't really that bad." He said and Roxas nodded. That really wasn't too bad although he begrudged the time. "You just needed good food and warmth to perk your body up to get past it. Your fever broke last night." Axel shrugged. "It was probably just as well. You got to miss the shouting, the weeping, the accusations, the counter accusations and more weeping. Oh, and more shouting." Axel's tone was grim and Roxas shuddered to himself as he pictured it. "We're at the recriminations stage right now. Which means whenever I breathe wrong, I get reminded of all my failings."

"Ah. Sometimes I'm glad I don't have a family." Roxas commented and noticed that Axel was looking uncomfortable now. "What?"

"Uh… well, during the accusation part my father demanded to know if we were lovers." Roxas sighed and stared at the ceiling. Was this why the maid was so frosty? "I didn't want to lie since you can't hide things like that in a castle, so I just didn't respond."

"No response means yes." Roxas said, but without any heat. Axel was probably right that it was better not to lie. "They don't think I'm the one you got kicked out the Windrider's for, do they?" Axel looked even more uneasy and Roxas had to suppress a desire to slap him.

"Not exactly. I mean, I denied it to my father and he and mother believe me but I wouldn't be too surprised if the servants have it wrong. You know how it goes." He offered and Roxas shrugged. He didn't much care what the servants thought.

"Well, it's not like I'm planning to live here permanently and I doubt they'll poison me. What about that Windrider you killed? Have you done anything with his body?" Roxas sipped his soup. He didn't much like to think of that night, although he'd mostly felt angry at the time rather than terrified. Axel grimaced.

"Father decided it was better to just leave it. Likely a scavenger will find his body and take care of it, and if we send any of the servants word could get out." Roxas nodded. People always talked, it was a fact of life. "Father has already sent out two couriers with a few of those letters you brought. They're completely loyal to the family." He assured the blonde and Roxas frowned, thinking about it. He didn't doubt their loyalty but that could be dangerous. Still, it had to be done. Mage messages could go faster but only a moron would entrust something like this to a wizard hireling. Not to mention that mage messages could be distressingly easy to intercept.

"So your father is helping us?" He asked and Axel nodded, a brief smile ghosting around his lips. "Then we can leave that to him." Roxas didn't like trusting in someone he didn't know at all, but he didn't have much choice at the moment. Axel nodded.

"Father will find someone willing to pay for the rest of your letters and testimony. The Duke is going to be utterly disgraced, and his sister won't be much better off." Axel seemed to take a grim pleasure in the thought and Roxas didn't object to it either. Brother and sister? Ew. "I should get back to practice, but is there anything I can get for you? Did the maid remember to empty your pot?"

"Uh, no actually." Roxas wondered if she'd forgotten on purpose, but he cringed a bit inside as Axel fished it out. "You don't have to." He said quickly but the redhead laughed, shaking his head.

"I carried my own out every day when I was in that tenement. I'll get it taken care of and I'll probably see you again in a few hours." Axel assured him. Roxas almost protested again – having the son of the house carry out his waste probably wouldn't endear him to the servants – but decided he didn't have the energy for it. Axel was already leaving anyway. The blonde sighed and looked around the room, finally examining it. It was more luxurious than he had expected. The heavy stone walls were softened with tapestries that were quite old and worn, but had been very fine when they were new. The furniture was completely different from the type he was used to. Roxas had always contented himself with furniture made by beating nails into pine boards. It worked well enough, even if it had to be replaced every once in a while when something broke. This furniture, on the other hand, was the type that was made to order, cost a small fortune and lasted forever. Roxas couldn't really evaluate the worth of it but he knew it was high. There was an armoire with a small selection of clothes, the end table and a dry sink. There was a pitcher of water by the sink and Roxas considered getting out of bed and washing himself. He was still thinking about it when two maids bustled in. One of them had a clean chamber pot and they both took the decision out of his hands.

"We're here to get you cleaned up a bit!" One of them exclaimed. She was young, perky and looking at him like he was the most fascinating thing she'd seen in her life. The other maid was quite old and just grunted, helping him sit up again as the girl got out a sponge.

"I'm not a complete invalid." He said, a bit irritated and took the sponge and basin from her. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the water was warm. Roxas found that his hands were shaking and it took a while to clean himself off, but it was worth it. He hated feeling helpless. The older maid shooed the giggling girl out as he worked. He didn't feel completely clean when he was done – only a proper soaking bath would fix that – but he felt close to human. Roxas settled back in the bed with a sigh and closed his eyes.

In what felt like no time at all, there was a hand on his shoulder. Roxas blinked and roused from his doze to see Axel smiling at him. The redhead had a scrape on his knuckles and his shirt had a few sweat stains, probably from a hard workout. The bandage on his arm was a touch dirty as well. There was another tray of food on the bedstand and Roxas felt his mouth water at the smell. If his nose was reporting correctly, it was some kind of fish stew.

"How are you feeling?" Axel asked and Roxas found, to his surprise, that he was feeling quite a lot better. The shaky weakness was going away although his throat was still painful. "Are you hungry?"

"Better and yes, very." Roxas replied as he pulled himself up. Axel laughed and set out the tray. Roxas smiled as he realized the dish was eel pie with a potato crust. Breaking open the crust, he took a large bite and sighed a bit. "I want to marry the cook." The blonde blinked as Axel laughed uproariously.

"Don't tell him that! You'd probably get some nightshade in your soup." Roxas shook his head, remembering that everyone here knew about his preferences. "Not really though. He's a great guy and he's been with the family forever." Axel snagged a piece of bread from Roxas' tray and the blonde gave him a half-hearted glare as he munched. "I brought you something else."

"Hm? What?" Roxas blinked as Axel pulled two slim volumes from his pocket. "Books?" Roxas eyed them with trepidation. He didn't really read that well. Axel grinned and tossed them to him. The blonde thumbed through one and blinked. "…This is in my native language." He stared at the familiar words, feeling oddly touched. "Where did you get this?" It would be much easier for him to read and it was a very thoughtful gesture.

"The library. My mother and her family have always been book collectors. There are works in there that are so old you'd think they're another language, but they're not." Axel grimaced slightly. "She tutored me in languages using them before I went to the Academy." Axel pulled something out of his pocket and Roxas looked curiously as he unwrapped the waxed paper. A hard candy? "The chef makes these maybe once a month. If you want he can probably teach you."

"I know how to make candies." Roxas said, a touch miffed. They weren't something the chocolate shop had specialized in, but they made them for the kids and they were much cheaper than the real chocolates. Axel paused a moment in his unwrapping and arched an eyebrow.

"Really?" Roxas blinked at him as he popped the candy in his mouth. "Something to think about." The redhead murmured and Roxas grimaced at the cryptic comment. He decided to ignore it and set to eating his pie. Axel didn't speak for a while, just keeping him company as he ate. "When you're feeling up to it, you should have a proper bath. We have a communal bath here and a sauna." Roxas smiled at the thought. It did sound like an excellent idea, even if everyone else in the castle might clear out during it. He wondered if Axel was having a similar problem.

They kept chatting for a while about various things, including the weather and Axel's luck on the practice field. The redhead was finally called away by a servant with the message that his parents wanted a word with him. Roxas watched him go with a feeling of wistfulness before looking down at the book on his lap. He opened it up and started reading.

_This is good._ He thought to himself as he carefully read each page. He wasn't a truly proficient reader even in his native tongue but it was much better than staring at walls. And the story itself was excellent so far. It seemed to be a mystery about the theft of jewels and the efforts of a young noblewoman to get them back before her father could find out. That wouldn't have interested him too much but her adventures were being played for humor and Roxas smiled at some of the more amusing parts. _This really was a thoughtful gift. _Roxas paused as he realized he was surprised by that. Why was he surprised? He fished around on his bed, finding a bookmark and using it to carefully mark his page before closing the book. Then he closed his eyes and tried to think. Why did it surprise him that Axel would be thoughtful?

_Because he's a noble and he's home now. He doesn't need me anymore. I expected him to toss me away, like nobles always do. _Roxas bit his lip as he realized what he'd been thinking, beneath the surface. Despite his words to the contrary, he'd expected Axel to start putting distance between them when he got home. It was the way nobles always behaved… use a commoner for as long as they were getting what they wanted, then toss them aside like trash. Roxas felt ashamed as he realized he'd been expecting the same thing from Axel.

"I should know him better than that." He murmured to himself. They'd only met a short time ago, but he felt like he knew the redhead completely. Axel didn't hide much, which was actually very pleasant. Roxas preferred it to having to ferret out the meaning behind words and actions. He'd gotten too much of that as a child. "Axel." Roxas rolled the name on his tongue then sighed, opening his book again. It was a very good book and almost took his mind off his troubling emotions.

Almost.

* * *

><p>Roxas scrubbed himself thoroughly, then submerged himself in the warm water. It felt absolutely blissful on his skin and he surfaced with a splash that made Axel laugh. They had the bath almost to themselves and were making the most of it.<p>

As Roxas had foreseen, people were acting very weird about their sexuality. The baths quickly became deserted whenever they entered, except for a few hardy souls who were not going to be ousted from their warm water. In one way, Roxas didn't like the exodus… he hated being conspicuous… but it did allow him to practice his swimming. Most public baths were far too crowded for such things. Then he caught an odor and scowled at Axel, who was looking suspiciously innocent.

"Did you just fart?" He demanded and Axel grinned sheepishly before nodding. "Disgusting!" He said without heat and Axel lifted his hands.

"It's not my fault! It's the cooks for making all those beans." He said quickly. Roxas sniffed a little at that excuse. Yes, there had been beans but there had also been plenty of bread, fresh vegetables and pork to go with them.

"You didn't have to eat so many." He said severely and Axel shrugged. "I know who isn't getting lucky tonight." He muttered and Axel smiled, his green eyes full of warmth. Roxas returned his smile without thinking about it.

"Not even if I let you tie me up?" Axel asked warmly and Roxas hesitated. "That's what I thought." Roxas blushed and ducked his head under the water again. They'd had a conversation about the possibilities of bondage but they hadn't actually done it yet. If Axel was willing, he definitely wasn't going to say no.

Roxas had been up and moving around the castle for two days. It was a real castle, too, as large as many ducal palaces. It was also highly defensible, with a large wall and a well cleared kill zone around the castle. Roxas was no expert on military affairs but he thought whoever had built the place had done a very good job. Yet Axel's father had only the title of Viscount. That ranked him among the minor nobility, just as Axel had claimed. With nothing else to do as he got better, Roxas had gone to the library himself and found some books on the history of the region. That had explained things in rather more detail than he wanted, but it hadn't taken much to get the gist.

The troubles in the North of the Kingdom had started with excessive taxation. Farmers were unable to pay their taxes or wanted to get out of it, so they sold their plots to the great nobles who paid the taxes for them and kept the farmers as workers. This worked quite well for a while, with shortfalls in one area being made up in others. But there was also a huge downside. As the farmers grew more dependent on the nobles their might had grown, and the nobles were no fonder of high taxes than the commoners. That had finally led to a civil war. Unfortunately for the rebels, the neighbors to the North had taken advantage of the confusion to invade. The rebellious nobles had fought them and the King at the same time and lost miserably. The survivors were stripped of their high rank, all their properties were broken up and most of their livelihood taken away. Which explained why Axel's father was only a Viscount and why he was engaged in the lumber trade.

Roxas wasn't going to mention it to Axel or his father though. From a few things Axel had said, everyone up here was more than a bit bitter about it. The commoners weren't happy either since the taxes really were quite high, so a large piece of the army was permanently stationed in the area. The general discontent kept them busy and Roxas vaguely wondered if there would be another civil war. Peasant rebellions could happen, when things became truly intolerable.

"Hey, are you awake?" Roxas blinked as Axel waved his hand in front of his face. "I'm done and I'm starving. Ready for lunch?"

"As long as it's not beans." Roxas riposted and had the satisfaction of seeing Axel take on a wounded look. "I don't want you tooting in bed like a foghorn!" Axel laughed uproariously and Roxas smiled as they left the tub. He liked the sound of Axel's laugh. It was so open and cheerful. "Oh, you know, I was thinking." Roxas tilted his head as Axel led them to the kitchen. "Have you thought about opening a candy shop?"

"Well, of course. That's what I'm planning." Roxas was mildly perplexed. He'd already confided his plans to open a chocolate shop to Axel. The redhead flashed him a grin as he snagged one of the servants and requested a few helpings of whatever was for lunch.

"Not exactly! I don't mean chocolates, I mean candies. Things like hard honey candies, salt taffy, honey nut brittle, that sort of thing?" Roxas mulled the thought over. He wasn't as skilled with those as chocolate, but he could make them. "Not many people in Tatawongo can afford chocolate, and not much cocoa makes it up there anyway. But there's no really good sweet stores. You could certainly open one, with the money father will give you."

"Um?" Roxas considered the idea and thought it was interesting. But potentially, there were problems. "How much influence does your father have there?" Likely Axel's ancestors had been the lords of the town.

"A lot." Axel admitted and Roxas nodded to himself. "They still look to us when there's trouble. If he gives word to the town authorities that you're alright, they'll close on any nosy outsiders." Roxas met Axel's anxious eyes and realized, almost with a shock, that the redhead wanted him to stay.

"What were you thinking of doing?" Roxas asked, then added lightly. "Being my bookkeeper?" From the dumbfounded look on the redhead's face, he hadn't thought of that at all.

"I thought maybe I'd see if the town militia might hire me… but they probably wouldn't, I'm sure they've heard… uh, bookkeeper? That could be interesting." Axel scratched his head as Roxas grinned. "I'm sure I could figure it out." Axel said valiantly. "I bet dad's accountant could teach me a bit." He was also sure it would be very boring. Roxas shrugged.

"You at least know how to read, write and do figures. I'm terrible with figures." The servant arrived with a platter of food and Axel took it with a smile and nod. Roxas twitched a bit at the smell. "What is that?" It looked and smelled absolutely mouth-watering. Axel glanced it over thoughtfully.

"It looks like lentil soup with fresh bread and cheese. C'mon, let's take this to the study." Roxas nodded. The study was full of books but had several tables, and Axel's parents didn't mind them eating there as long as the books did not come to harm. As they went, he wondered how long it would take for the Viscount's messengers to return.

He hoped it would be soon.


End file.
